Angels In The Room
by Exhile87
Summary: P3. A collection of stories mostly featuring Akihiko and Mitsuru. ::Spoilers:: COMPLETED.
1. Angels In The Room

**A/N: This is the first chapter of a collection of short stories featuring Akihiko and Mitsuru (predominantly). As it stands now, most of them will take place during certain moments in the game, but they won't necessarily be in chronological order. As with the last two Persona 3 fics I wrote, each chapter will be named after a song. **

**Title: **Angels In The Room (by Delta Goodrem)

**Summary:** I was a calm-headed person, but sometimes, dealing with Akihiko made my blood boil. (Very small spoilers for the beginning of the game.)

* * *

I had always thought I was a pretty calm-headed person, even with the occasional exasperation and hair-tearing frustration from matters at school, but as I stood there glaring at Akihiko, I felt my left eye involuntarily twitch. My face was probably as flushed as his, but the emotion flaming my skin wasn't embarrassment or guilt. Oh no, it was far from that…

After the doctor left, we spent the next several minutes simply locking gazes, as if challenging each other to break the silence first. His grey eyes seemed to bore into me—steady, firm, unflinching, but underneath that facade lay a rather uneasy and anxious boy.

… Or so I thought.

"Don't look at me like that, Mitsuru. It's just a scratch; it's not like it's the end of the world," he remarked, a hand rubbing his bruised ribs gingerly. Once again, I felt my eyebrow twitch. I had to turn away to stop myself from responding with a growl. Yes, I _was_ a calm-headed person, but sometimes, dealing with Akihiko made my blood boil. Shinjiro would never be as reckless as him. Shinji never ran head-on into a battle he knew he could never win. Even in the most alarming situations, Shinji always managed to take a step back and like me, think ahead and consider all consequences.

And most importantly, Shinji _never_ disobeyed me.

"I gave you specific orders, Akihiko," I said, refraining from gritting my teeth. "You know you can't fight well with those ribs of yours. I can't imagine why you would put yourself in danger when it is clear you have almost no chance of succeeding at all!"

"_Almost_ no chance—see, I _could_ have won the fight, then…" he replied a little sulkily.

I sighed heavily. "It wasn't only a matter of defeating the Shadow or not. You put the others in danger as well. You _know_ the Tartarus is still a black box to us all. How could you even _think_ you could barge in there with the three of them without any means of knowing what might be around the corner, or on the next floor?"

I watched his body language intently as I spoke, looking out for any tell-tale signs of guilt. With Akihiko, it was always either a sheepish rub on the back of his neck or the inability to meet my eyes. Right then, he did exactly both.

I sighed again. "I thought I could leave them to you the _one_ night I wouldn't be around but evidently, I was wrong..." _**Very**__ wrong…_

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," Akihiko finally muttered, shifting his attention to the wound on his upper arm and carefully inspecting the bandage. "There—I said it." _'Are you happy now?',_ I almost expected him to add. Shutting my eyes for a moment, I crossed my arms and inhaled deeply, the clean, sterile air of the hospital room filling my lungs. I walked over to the bed and sat down beside him. He still refused to look up.

"Akihiko, I wasn't trying to wring out an apology. I'm not forbidding you to fight just for the fun of it. You must understand that you're in no condition to battle at all," I said. "If something were to happen to you, I—"

"You'd lose yet another Persona-user?" he cut in, raising his eyes to mine. His tone was uncharacteristically bitter. I froze at once and merely stared at him, quite suddenly unable to verbalize my thoughts. I didn't know exactly what I had felt then. Was it anger at his behaviour? Shame because his words actually rang true? Hurt from realising how low a person he thought I was? All of them?

During the few seconds I was staring at him, he broke eye contact once more, a gloved hand reaching up to rest on his neck. "I'm sorry," he apologized again, his voice quiet. "I'm sorry, Mitsuru. I didn't mean that. I just… I feel so restless these days. I can't box, I can't train, I can't do _anything_ but lift weights! Hanging back every night in the Tartarus while those three head on in sort of… _suffocates_ me somehow. I feel like I'm going to burst or something from all this pent-up energy!" He paused to take a couple of breaths. "Last night was a mistake. I take full responsibility for what happened. Minato and the others had nothing to do with it—I was the one who convinced them to go to the Tartarus without you."

My gaze softened at his outspoken confession and I felt my blood pressure lower. I knew the past few days had been hard on him. 'Training' was Akihiko's middle name—sometimes it was almost as if he _lived_ for it. I was well aware of the fire that had robbed him of his sister, and truthfully, I admired his sense of determination in getting stronger. I just wished he wouldn't be so _reckless…_

"This isn't a game, Akihiko. It's fine to want to train and improve yourself, but you shouldn't put yourself in danger just because you want to release some tension," I pointed out. His eyebrows arched down slightly and he opened his mouth to retaliate, but I lifted a finger sharply to silence him. "_However,"_ I continued. "I'm sure you're now well aware of the consequences of your actions, so I accept your apology. What happened last night must have been quite a shock for Arisato, Iori and Takeba. In hindsight, you getting injured might just be a good thing for them; they will probably be more cautious when they explore the Tartarus."

"… So you're saying me getting my ass kicked is my fault _and_ a perfect lesson for the rookies?" Akihiko asked, dismayed. A sudden chuckle escaped my lips and I stood up, smoothing down my knee-length skirt. "Yes, but you had that coming," I said with a shrug. Walking to the door, I dug into my pocket and pulled out the key to my motorcycle. "We should head on back. Are you ready to go?"

"Yep," he replied, getting up from the bed and reaching out for his jacket. He inspected his wound one last time before gingerly slipping on his coat. We both headed outside where my bike was. I glanced at my watch. 1:08 AM. I had been up all last night but strangely enough, I wasn't tired. My platinum-haired companion, on the other hand, looked as if he had been hit by a subway train. He wrinkled up his nose at the thought of once again riding home, but I knew it wasn't that he disliked motorcycles. On the contrary, Akihiko, like many other boys, loved his cars and bikes.

The one thing he didn't look forward to, however, was being in the backseat:

"_Uh, are you sure you want me putting my arms around you? I don't want to be 'executed', you know…"_

"_I feel like such a kid! How about I ride for once and you hang on to me instead?"_

"… _You know, __**girls**__ are supposed to be the ones sitting behind __**guys **__on motorcycles."_ ("Akihiko, that's sexist!")

Right then, Akihiko was looking at the bike almost warily as he put on his helmet. I was already starting the engine. "I really think you ought to have gotten a car instead," he complained, his voice muffled. I just gave another chuckle, putting on my own helmet and revving up the motorcycle. There was a small bounce as he sat himself behind me, his gloved hands stiff at my waist. We had ridden together more than a few times but I always sensed apprehension and anxiety from him. I turned back to look at him, watching him settle into a comfortable position, with his bruised ribs and all.

"All okay back there?" I inquired. His response was a grunt. The ride back to the dorm was uneventful, but every pothole or bump along the road we encountered was almost always followed by a soft groan by him. "Maybe you should check the suspension on your bike," he called out. "Don't your other passengers complain?"

"You're practically the only person I give rides to. I'm not providing a service, you know," I countered with a smile. He said nothing. Was he embarrassed? He shouldn't have been. Akihiko and I had known each other too long for something as trivial as this to make things awkward between us.

We reached the garage at the back of the dorm and I parked my bike at its usual spot. Despite his weariness, Akihiko jumped off immediately the moment we stopped. He took off his helmet and handed it over to me. "Thanks for the ride," he said, flashing me a boyish grin.

"No worries." I slipped off my own helmet. He turned to enter the dorm but I stopped him with a rather anxious "Wait." He looked back at me, eyebrows raised, surprised but expectant. I got off the bike and approached him. "About before…" I started slowly. "… I know sometimes it just seems like I'm using all of you to correct the mistakes my grandfather made. I don't deny that, but you must understand there's no possible way I can do this alone. I need as much help as I can get." It was a little strange hearing myself admitting that. He merely kept silent.

"But I don't think of you as just a Persona-user, Akihiko," I said softly. "We've been through so much together. You're my friend, first and foremost—one of my closest. If anything were to happen to you…" I trailed off, suddenly not knowing how to complete that sentence, but the look in his eyes showed me he understood what I was trying to say. I said it anyway, "If anything were to happen to you—and all because you were fighting in a war started by my own flesh and blood—I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

"… I didn't mean what I said in the hospital, Mitsuru. It was insensitive, and I'm sorry."

"The doctor said you should be fine in a week or so. I know it's difficult for you to just sit around and do nothing, but I want you to promise me you won't be ahead of yourself and jump into something reckless until you're better," I stated firmly.

"Alright," he said rather meekly.

"If you want to blow off some steam, you're welcome to take a ride sometime," I casually suggested, nodding towards the bike. His eyes lit up at once, surprising me for a moment. "Really?" he replied with another grin. "That might not be a bad idea. Thanks, Mitsuru. Good thing I took that motorcycle license test, huh?" I blinked at his words, but he appeared oblivious to the puzzled look on my face. He walked over to the bike, running his hands along the metallic body and seemingly inspecting something. "I'll have to do something about the suspension system, though…" he mumbled.

Did he honestly think he was going to ride that thing alone? When I had mentioned 'ride' just now, I had actually meant him in the _backseat_ again...

… Perhaps I should have used the phrase 'come along for a ride' instead…

* * *

**A/N: I've proof-read this, but if you do find any mistakes, just let me know.  
**


	2. Banana Pancakes

**A/N: Thanks to Picup, lil-creator and PreseatheKitsune for their positive feedback****. This chapter was originally intended to be the third instead of second, but I decided that a light-hearted sort of story after the pretty serious first chapter would probably be a better idea. Once again, I've proof-read this but just let me know if there're any errors! ****  
**

**Title:** Banana Pancakes (by Jack Johnson)

**Summary:** Yukari, Fuuka and Mitsuru. Minato, Junpei and Akihiko. Two separate conversations stemmed from the same topic. Yukari is amazed she is able to have a rather normal conversation with Mitsuru, while Minato and Junpei learn something new about the redhead of the team... (Small spoilers for Yakushima.)

* * *

"Hey… Akihiko-senpai looks pretty good, doesn't he?"

It had sounded like a harmless and casual remark, but the moment I turned to my two companions, I wished I hadn't said anything at all. Fuuka was staring at me with a strange expression that I could only describe as a mixture of embarrassment and shock. Her cheeks were quickly turning red, almost rivalling Mitsuru-senpai's hair. The senior herself was blinking at me, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Y-Yukari-chan!" Fuuka gasped. I flashed her a sheepish grin. "Sorry," I said apologetically. "That was kinda random, wasn't it? It's just that…" I shifted my attention to the three boys who were further down the beach. Junpei was paddling in the shallow part of the water while Minato and Akihiko-senpai stood by, chatting about something. "It's just that I've never seen him without his shirt before," I pointed out, taking in the long, muscular arms and well-built body of the silver-haired boxer, whose white T was on the sand a foot or so away. "I mean, look at Stupei! You can see he's been having a little too many Cup-o-Ramens. And Minato-kun… well, he looks alright, but Akihiko-senpai can totally take them both on."

"Um… Yukari-chan, don't tell me you…" started Fuuka hesitantly, but I merely laughed. "No!" I said. "I mean, sure, Akihiko-senpai doesn't look bad, and he has that whole mysterious charm thing going on, but he really isn't my type."

"… Mysterious charm?" Fuuka frowned slightly, as if deeply considering my words. She sat up straighter in her seat and shrugged. "I-I don't know about that. To tell the truth, I'm a little afraid of him…"

"Really, Yamagishi?" Mitsuru-senpai spoke up for the first time, her voice almost amused. Then she gave an uncharacteristic chuckle and said, "Why him of all people?"

Truthfully, I couldn't help agreeing with her. After all, Mitsuru-senpai seemed like a scarier person than Akihiko-senpai. I was inevitably reminded of the discussion we all had a few nights ago, or to be more precise, the huge revelation by Mitsuru-senpai. Familiar feelings of bitterness erupted within me at once but I quickly tried my best to squash them down. We were supposed to be on vacation here. Mitsuru-senpai herself was nice enough (dare I say _considerate?)_ to let us stay at her family home. I shouldn't dig up and remember issues I'd rather forget at a time like this.

"Well…" started Fuuka a little nervously. "Akihiko-senpai always seems so confident. I can almost always taste his excitement and certainty when he goes into battle. It's like nothing ever fazes him. I guess maybe I'm just envious of his nature…"

"Come to think of it, I _was_ sort of scared of him too, the first few days I started staying at the dorm," I admitted, casting my mind back a few months. "He never used to say much to me, just grunted or nodded."

"It takes a while for Akihiko to really warm up to someone," Mitsuru-senpai said, looking back at the book she was reading. "I felt the same way you did when I first met him, Takeba."

I took a minute to study her serious face. For some reason, she seemed so much less intimidating without the well-pressed blouse and high-heel boots. Or maybe it had something to do with the way she's just lazing around with those sunglasses on her head…

"How long have you known him? Akihiko-senpai, I mean," I suddenly found myself asking out of curiosity. Her eyes rose to meet mine, eyebrows raised once more. Even Fuuka was looking at her in mild interest. She averted her gaze and frowned, thinking deeply. "… About four and a half years now," she finally answered. "We met in middle school."

"Wow, I had no idea you two have known each other for so long," Fuuka said, her tone a little in awe. "Did you already know he had a Persona?"

"No, he developed the potential a couple of years later. Before we started out as comrades, we were pretty close schoolmates." Mitsuru-senpai paused. She opened her mouth again to continue, but suddenly hesitated and decided not to say anymore. Naturally, her reaction piqued my curiosity again, but before I could inquire any further, Fuuka was already asking the next question, "How did the both of you meet? Were you in the same class as he was?"

Mitsuru-senpai nodded her head. "Yes. He was sitting at the desk next to me. I helped him out with some homework in the first week, and he brought me some melonpan as thanks. It was the first time I'd ever tasted such a delicious snack!"

… _You've __**never**__ had melonpan before? _I stopped myself just in time from blurting out that rather rude question. I noticed Fuuka's astonishment at the redhead's words as well. How could she not have tried something as common as melonpan before? And was it just me, or was Mitsuru-senpai pretty talkative now? I'd never have thought that we could have such a _normal_ conversation with her. Maybe she's been in the sun too long…

"Four and a half years, huh?" I repeated thoughtfully, suddenly feeling bolder and cheeky (Maybe _I_ was the one soaking too much of the sun…). "So, have the two of you ever gone out?" From the corner of my eyes, I saw Fuuka's rather alarmed expression.

Mitsuru-senpai blinked. "Gone out? Do you mean like shopping? No, I don't really like going to malls."

"No, I meant _dates,_" I giggled. "Have the two of you ever dated before?"

Senpai blinked again, and she stared at me so intently that I was beginning to wonder if she _really _understood the question at all. On the other hand, she also looked as if she had never considered such a possibility before. After a few seconds, she shifted her attention back to her book. Perhaps I went a little too far…

"Of course not," responded Mitsuru-senpai in a neutral tone. She kept her eyes on the pages before her. "Akihiko's a good friend. He's almost like a brother to me. We don't… we never had that sort of romantic relationship. Things between us go deeper than that… and they're more complex than they seem…" Her last sentence was said under her breath—I didn't know if she had even intended for us to hear it. Fuuka and I exchanged glances, suddenly a little uncomfortable. Somehow, the light-hearted conversation had turned rather sombre.

I cleared my throat awkwardly and got up from the deckchair, my feet sinking into the lovely, warm sand. "Wanna go for a swim?" I asked as amicably as I could.

"Okay." Fuuka jumped up.

"You two go on ahead," Mitsuru-senpai said, her gaze still on her book. "I'll join you later."

As Fuuka and I headed down to the boys, I found myself taking a glimpse at the redheaded senior behind us. I felt a little annoyed. The questions I asked weren't offensive or anything. Why did she have to act that way?

Honestly, sometimes I didn't get Mitsuru Kirijo at all.

* * *

"… I think I can use that little rock there as the starting point, and I'll swim all the way over to that _other _rock. I'll do about ten laps… or maybe even fifteen…" I touched my chin thoughtfully, frowning as I pointed to the dark-grey stones that were jutting out of the sea. Minato followed my gaze, his hands deep in his pockets, his back slightly hunched. "That's pretty far, Senpai," he said. "Are you sure you can handle it?"

I grinned good-humouredly at him. "Of course. Back in school, I do more intense training than that. I'll be alright," I confidently said.

"Senpai!" came Junpei's rather irritated voice. "We're supposed to be on vacation! Why are you doing _laps?_ You should be splashing around in the water or at least sunbathing or somethin'…"

_Sunbathing?_ I couldn't help feeling a little horrified at such a notion.

"And what's Yuka-tan doing there with Fuuka and Mitsuru-senpai? They shouldn't just lie there; they should come over and join me!" I got the feeling Junpei took this whole Yakushima thing too seriously. He acted as if the beach was going to melt away if no one swam around with him. And I knew the other reason he wanted the girls around him…

Ugh, that brought a bad aftertaste in my mouth…

"Why is Mitsuru-senpai _reading?_" Junpei's eyes grew as wide as saucers as he stared, agape. Minato and I turned to look at the girls. True enough, Mitsuru was holding a hardcover in her hands. She was talking to Yukari and Fuuka and they were all oblivious to our stares.

"It's her family's vacation home." I shrugged. "She's probably been here thousands of times already. Let her do what she wants."

"I hope her Dad doesn't suddenly kick us out. He didn't look like he was in a good mood just now…" Junpei shuddered but I just laughed.

"Don't worry about it! He may seem scary at first but he's actually quite a nice guy," I explained with a smile.

"You've met him before, Senpai?" Minato questioned, eyebrows arched up. I nodded. "Yeah, loads of times," I said. "I've known Mitsuru for a while now. Her father used to visit us at the dorm once a month." A small part of me wanted to mention Shinji as well, but I knew the two juniors would want to know more if I did, and I wasn't in the mood to tell them about our past.

"You know, Mitsuru-senpai acts a little weird with her father," Junpei bluntly pointed out. "I'd never have guessed they were father and daughter! She talked to him like she was talking to a friend she just bumped into."

Minato had on an agreeing expression. I rested my hands on my hips and turned to stare out at the sea. Mitsuru _did_ have a strange relationship with her father; one that had initially puzzled me as well. I knew it wasn't that she didn't love him—far from that. After all, it was her love for him that gave birth to her Persona. But still, the both of them didn't usually act like a parent and his child. Maybe it was all a façade?

"Hey, Akihiko-senpai!" Junpei's voice burst my bubbles of thoughts. I faced him just in time to see him wearing a rather sly look on his face. Nearby, Minato merely blinked at him emotionlessly. I grew wary at once. Junpei was acting suspicious—what was he up to?

"… What?" I dared to ask.

"So you've known Mitsuru-senpai for a long time, huh?" I nodded at his inquiry. "So… have you ever asked her out?"

I stared at him, once more slightly horrified, and repeated, _"… What?"_

"You know!" Junpei exploded into laughter, unable to contain his mirth. For some reason, I suddenly had the urge to choke him. "The both of you—dating!"

A small smile touched Minato's lips and he gave a soft chuckle as well. I, on the other hand, simply stood there and stared at the two of them.

"Well?" egged Junpei in between his guffaws. I found myself frowning and turning away from him. "Don't be ridiculous," I almost barked, annoyed. "Mitsuru and I are just friends—have been and always will be. Go ask her yourself if you don't believe me." It was true. Sure, I cared about her, but in the same way I cared about Shinji. Mitsuru was beautiful, intelligent, confident—all attractive qualities, but over the last few years, there hadn't been a hint of romance at all between us. We were good friends who knew each other inside and out; good friends who were there for each other no matter what.

"Uhh… I'll pass…" Junpei said, scratching his short-cropped hair.

"For a second there, Senpai, you looked a little freaked out," Minato shrewdly observed, his voice amused.

"Of_ course _I was freaked out," I said. "The idea of asking Mitsuru Kirijo out makes every guy pee in his pants. I thought it's common knowledge in school. Don't you guys know?" I involuntarily shuddered, remembering a couple of incidents involving male students (usually new), pick-up lines and Mitsuru's icy glare. I caught sight of the wide-eyed looks belonging to both Junpei and Minato and decided to share a little information that was pretty well known among the senior students.

"Mitsuru absolutely hates guys hitting on her," I said patiently, almost as if I was teaching a child to go potty. "She hates people staring at her, she hates people worshipping her, and she hates lewd behaviour, especially towards her." I noticed Junpei immediately freezing up at my words. I inwardly smiled. It would do him good to behave himself in front of our redheaded hostess during the course of this vacation. "I've personally seen her reduce a guy to shivers and shakes _and_ close to tears when he asked her if she wanted to 'get down' with him." I couldn't help sniggering. "Man, what a corny line... Anyway, what I'm trying to say is... you two should keep yourselves in check when you're around her. Trust me, all the other seniors do—the _guys,_ I mean."

Junpei and Minato remained shell-shocked even after I had completed my lecture. I badly wanted to laugh at their expressions.

"… I had no idea Mitsuru-senpai could be so…" Minato trailed off, thinking of the right word to use. "… scary."

After a while, Junpei shook his head and gave me a nervous grin. "Heh, Senpai, it almost seems like you're afraid of her," he said jokingly.

"I_ am _afraid of her," I shamelessly admitted. Once again, that brought about two petrified stares from my companions. I understood Junpei's shock, but why was Minato so surprised? Hadn't I told him about Polydeuces' weakness to ice, and how Mitsuru's Persona was ice based? I had thought that he was able to see the connection there, but perhaps I should have been more specific… "And I think you guys should, too," I added.

"Uh…" Junpei started, but appeared to falter.

"… Yukari and Fuuka are coming over," Minato remarked, catching sight of the two girls who were approaching us. I turned to look at them, noticing that Mitsuru had stayed behind to do some reading, which was actually quite a good thing, in my case. I wasn't used to seeing her in so little clothing.

"Well, I'm off to start my training. That was an educational session, wasn't it? Better keep everything I said in mind now." I brightly chirped, beginning to wade through the waves.

I got no response at all. Oh well…


	3. Starry Starry Night

**A/N: Thanks for the great reviews on the last chapter! As I've mentioned before, this was supposed to be the second chapter (just because the perfectionalist in me wanted to keep things in chronological order...). Much shorter than the last one, but I wanted to include it because, well, it's a perfect moment for some quality time between Mitsuru and Akihiko. More importantly, the conversation between them acts as a sort of precursor to the infamous incident in October. ****  
**

**Title:** Starry Starry Night (by Don McLean)

**Summary:** "You can't protect everyone, Akihiko. No matter how much you try, sometimes things just don't go the way you want them to." On their way back from walking Fuuka home, Mitsuru and Akihiko have a little talk. (Small spoilers for October full moon.)

* * *

"Will your parents be home, Yamagishi?" Mitsuru asked the green-haired girl beside her as they walked down the dimly-lit street of the quiet residential area. The junior nodded in response. "Yes, my mother will probably be there, but my father might not be back yet," she said.

"You sure they'd let you stay at the dorm?" Akihiko inquired, a hand reaching up to scratch his head.

"I think they will. After all, it _is_ closer to school. I'll do my best to convince them," Fuuka said. She gestured towards a quaint little house they were nearing. "That's my home. You don't need to worry about following me to the doorstep, Senpai. I'm pretty sure Mum's around." The three of them stopped before a rickety wooden gate, which Fuuka pushed open. She turned back to smile at the seniors. "Thank you for walking me home," she said with a grateful bow.

"That's okay," replied Akihiko.

"You have a nice garden," Mitsuru remarked, her sharp eyes catching sight of the beautifully trimmed bushes and plants despite the dimness.

"Thanks, my mother takes care of it. She loves gardening; I help her out sometimes."

"I see. Well, we'll see you in school, Yamagishi. Good night." The two older SEES members stayed back for a while to make sure Fuuka was safely in the house before turning to leave. It was a relatively cool night for summer. For once, Akihiko had left his jacket back in his room and he walked on with his hands deep in his pockets. Mitsuru followed suit, half a step behind, arms crossed and red tresses waving gently in the breeze.

"It's a nice neighbourhood," Akihiko broke the brief silence, looking at the small, neat houses around them. "Pretty quiet. I'm sure Fuuka will take a while to get used to the busier streets next to our dorm."

"Mmm…" came the slightly dreamy response from Mitsuru. He glanced at her, cocking his head to the side. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"… Yamagishi," she answered after a pause. "Her Persona's abilities are quite impressive, aren't they? Granted, it's nothing compared to being able to switch Personas in the midst of battle, but still, knowing the enemy's weaknesses and strengths in a matter of seconds _without_ even needing to be nearby will prove very useful."

"Yeah," Akihiko concurred. "We could really use her on the team, and with_ her _handling support, that means you'll be able to join us in battle. It'll be like old times."

She gave him a small, watery smile. "Minus one…" she added in a whisper. He heard her, but carried on walking anyway.

"Are you excited?"

"Yes," admitted Mitsuru. "I don't mind giving support, but it'll be good to be on the frontline again, though I think my skills are a little rusty now. Plus, I'll see if Yamagishi will help me with my training—sharpen Penthesilea's senses a little more. You never know when she might need some back-up."

"Ever the practical person, I see." Akihiko laughed. He suddenly stopped and turned to her worriedly as a thought struck his mind. "Oh, how are you feeling?" he asked. "I mean… are you still hurting? That was quite a fall the other night."

"I'm alright now, thanks. It was just a few bruises. Nothing too serious," she replied, a little touched by his concern. The both of them fell silent again as they resumed their walk back to the dorm. They went down one of the busier streets of the city and into a rather deserted lane that led to another road just by the sea. As they ambled along, Akihiko looked longingly at it, the hushed waves filling him with tranquillity. He turned to Mitsuru. "Are you in a hurry to get back?" he inquired. "Is it okay if we hang out here for a while?"

She took a look at her watch and nodded. "I don't mind," she said. "It shouldn't take us more than ten minutes to get back to the dorm from here. We can stay a while."

He grinned in reply, pleased, and went over to lean against the sturdy metal railing, grey eyes combing the vast ocean before him. She followed him, standing by his side and looking out at the dark waters below.

"I'm sorry about the other night." His words made her raise her eyebrows at him in surprise. "What?" she said.

"The other night—when we rescued Fuuka? I couldn't make it to you in time when you were attacked by those two Shadows."

"Akihiko…" Mitsuru said sharply but slowly. "You're not my bodyguard. I don't expect you to constantly be at my beck and call. I was careless that night; I was so focused on tracking you down that the Shadows just took me by surprise. And I not only placed myself in danger, but Takeba as well. If it was anyone's fault, it's mine."

He surprised her again when he gave a harsh chuckle. She stared at him, her forehead furrowed slightly. "You have no idea, Mitsuru, what it's like to know that someone you care about got hurt because of your own damned weakness," he said in a low tone. "I train and train precisely because I _know _how that feels. Like I said to Yukari once, I know what it's like to be powerless, and I don't ever want to feel that way again. You getting hurt just meant I wasn't strong enough, and I sort of hate myself for that…"

His lips were pressed in a thin, straight line, his jaws tensed. Mitsuru studied him for a moment before heaving a sigh. She turned away to lean her elbows and back on the railing.

"You can't protect everyone, Akihiko," she stated quietly. "No matter how much you try, sometimes things just don't go the way you want them to. Sometimes… even though you can't do anything about what happens in the end, the only thing that really matters is how much you tried to help them—how much you tried to _save _them." She paused, and then added under her breath, "How much you sacrificed just to be there for them."

She waited to see if he responded, but he simply kept quiet. Feeling the tension between them rising, she said no more. They spent the next few minutes in silence—she lifting her head to breathe in the salty ocean air and he fixing his stare on the unrelenting waves splashing against the rocks below. Neither of them moved, even when the first few raindrops began to fall. Somewhere faraway came the rumble of thunder.

"We should get back to the dorm before the rain gets heavier," Mitsuru pointed out. He nodded in reply and gestured for her to move on. "You go on ahead," he said. "I'll catch up."

She looked at him sharply, but when she saw his grim face, she decided not to say anything. With an indifferent shrug, she turned and walked away, leaving him to continue staring at the sea. His grip on the metal rail tightened as he stood there for a while, ignoring the more frequent drops of rain on his skin.

"… I think you're wrong, Mitsuru," Akihiko whispered to himself, grey eyes catching the reflection of the moon. "Things might not go the way I want them to, but someday, I'll still be strong enough to protect the people that matter to me…"


	4. One Girl Revolution

**A/N: As some of you might already know, the original fourth chapter of this fic was posted as a separate story called _Hepatica._ **

**The idea for this chapter came to me while I was in the shower (Lolz, don't ask why!). Needless to say, by the end of this you would understand why I had a lot of fun writing it... and I mean a _lot..._ I'm sure you'd be able to see where this is going by the first half of the chapter... :D **

**Title: **One Girl Revolution (by Superchick)

**Summary:** It was something the three of them wished they hadn't known…

* * *

"Are you feeling better? I was hoping we could go to Tartarus tonight," Akihiko said to Minato as they were standing by the front gates of the school. They were waiting for Junpei—late as always—and had planned to pay a visit to the police station at Paulownia Mall to check out some new equipment that had arrived.

"Yeah, I'm alright now," answered Minato. He had been ill and the team had not been to Tartarus for the past week. "Still have this annoying cough, though, but we'll go tonight. I'm sure the others wouldn't mind."

Akihiko smiled, pleased, but when he looked at his watch, his expression darkened. "Where the hell is Junpei?" he complained. Minato just shrugged.

The both of them hung around for a minute or so, watching the other students walk by—some in groups, some alone and others with their girlfriends or boyfriends. Just as Minato was about to send him a text message, Junpei came running down the stairs and towards the gates. He had on a grin from ear to ear and an expression of excitement.

"Oh no… what's he up to now?" Akihiko muttered as soon as he saw him. It wasn't strange to see Junpei cheerful and animated, but to see him even _more_ energetic was a clear warning that something bad was about to happen…

"Come on, we're already—" began Minato a little wearily but was rudely interrupted by the other junior, who grabbed hold of both him and Akihiko. "_Guys!_ Look what I found at the back of the lockers. Someone must have dropped it!" Junpei showed them something he had in his hands. It was a small, dark blue and plain-looking notebook with someone's name on the front cover. Minato and Akihiko stared at it silently.

"What about it?" Akihiko inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"It's someone's journal."

The silver-haired senior immediately frowned in annoyance. "What are you taking it for? Go hand it in to someone in the faculty office," he barked. He and Minato turned to leave but soon stopped dead in their tracks.

"There's a little thing in here about Mitsuru-senpai…" Junpei said teasingly in a singsong voice. His words immediately got the attention of the other two, who faced him once more with wider eyes. Before they could say anything, he turned to the first page of the journal. "Check this out; it's pretty funny. Ahem…" He paused dramatically and began to recite, "'Today has gotta be one of the best days in my life. I met Mitsuru Kirijo—the daughter of the CEO of the Kirijo Corporation! Well, we didn't really meet; she was giving a speech in assembly and I was just in the audience. I'd never seen anyone so beautiful, so radiant. As I watched her speak, my heart was racing so. Oh, how I wished she was speaking to me instead and to no one else! She's running for Student Council President. I'm _totally_ going to vote for her! She's so much cooler than the other candidates. I still can't stop thinking about her, even though the assembly was hours ago.'"

At the end of that sentence, Junpei could barely contain his mirth and began to laugh loudly, earning surprised and puzzled glances from some other students nearby. Both Minato and Akihiko stood there, rooted to the ground, as still as rocks and faces stunned.

"Gimme that!" Akihiko freed himself from his initial shock and grabbed the notebook from Junpei's hands. He turned to the front cover to read the name printed there. "'Hikaru Yamato'… Who the hell is that? You know him?" He turned to Minato, who shook his head.

"Let's see what else is in there!" Junpei cried excitedly and snatched back the book. He flipped through the pages and scanned them quickly, a creepy smile on his lips. "Wow, almost all of them are about Mitsuru-senpai! Listen to this: 'I found out from my informant in Class 3-D that Mitsuru-senpai does fencing. She's so_ cool! _I think this is starting to be an obsession. I can't stop thinking about her. She's always in my head—when I'm having dinner, when I'm watching TV, when I'm doing my homework, when I'm taking a shower. Oh Mitsuru-senpai…'"

Once again, he burst out laughing, clutching at his sides in glee, but Akihiko only had on a sick look on his face. "'When I'm taking a shower'…?" he quoted, his fingers reaching out to massage his temples. "Oh man… what the _hell_ is this?"

"Uh…" Minato started uncomfortably, his expression a little pained. "Are you sure we should be reading this?"

"Here's another crazy one," Junpei read on, ignoring the blue-head completely. "'I was in the library today. I wasn't studying, of course; the only reason I was even there in the first place was because I saw Mitsuru-senpai go in. She was helping out a friend. I knew she was a kind person! People are always saying she's scary but they don't know what they're talking about. Anyway, I was mingling about near the shelves when I overheard her saying she was going to go to the bathroom, so I rushed out of the library and to the toilets. I made sure no one else was around, and then I went into one of the cubicles to wait for her. Oh my, it was so—'"

"The_ hell?" _ Akihiko almost shouted and he grabbed the book again, looking as if he was going to tear it up. "Who the hell is this guy? Going into female toilets to stalk her? Thinking about her while he's_ showering?"_

"You think he might be dangerous, Senpai?" Minato asked, troubled. He was trying his best to pay no attention to the chortling Junpei, who had been laughing so hard he dropped his cap and was wiping tears from his eyes.

"Maybe." All righteous thoughts escaped Akihiko in an instant and he turned over the pages, reading some parts out loud and getting more and more hot and bothered as he continued reading:

"'I heard that Mitsuru-senpai might pick a student or two to be on the council. I'm not very popular in class so I doubt she'd pick me! Someone said that she invited this guy from 2-F. I'm so jealous! What do I have to do to make her notice me more? Maybe I should start leaving her notes in her locker.'

'I had a dream last night about Mitsuru-senpai. She took me for a ride on her motorcycle and we rode all night in the city. I can still imagine myself holding on to her waist, pressing my face against her back and smelling her hair. Oh, if only I could go for a ride with her for real. Her motorcycle is really cool, too. I saw her ride home from school once—she looked really sexy. I wouldn't mind getting run over by her at all! It would make me happy! Anything from Mitsuru-senpai is a blessing!'

'I saw Mitsuru-senpai walking to the gym with that captain of the boxing team, Akihiko Sanada or whatever his name is. Ugh, just seeing them together made me so mad! I don't know what the girls see in that Sanada guy anyway. They say he's all handsome and cute but he looks like a stuck-up ass to me. He better not take Mitsuru-senpai away from me! I bet he thinks he has a chance with her just because they live under the same roof.'"

By the end of the third part, Akihiko was close to furious. The words_ 'stuck-up ass'_ rang constantly in his ears and it took every inch of his willpower to stop himself from swearing out loud.

"Whoa, that guy's gotta be a psycho or something. Did he say he wanted to get run over by a bike?" Junpei gaped.

"You know, that second part sounds a little familiar…" mumbled Minato, scratching his head thoughtfully. "I seem to have heard someone say that before… I can't remember who or where, though."

Akihiko closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He flipped through more of the pages, trying to find something that could possibly identify the owner of the journal, but all he found were more adoring writings about his red-headed friend:

'_I heard that Mitsuru-senpai can speak French. She's so __cool__; she can do anything! Because of that, I wanted to go rent some French movies. They were really hard to find, but I finally got one from that place near Paulownia Mall. I didn't understand a thing but everytime a woman was on screen, I imagined it was Mitsuru-senpai talking. It gave me goosebumps and a warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach…' _

'_My informant told me that Mitsuru-senpai went to Yakushima beach during the holidays. She has a family vacation home there. I would give anything just to see her in her swimsuit! I wonder if it's a two- or a single-piece? It wouldn't have mattered anyway; Mitsuru-senpai can wear anything and still look smoking hot. Oh, I want to see her in a swimsuit…'_

Akihiko shut the book with a grunt of distaste. "This is making me sick…" he groaned, thinking that perhaps reading some guy's fantasies about his closest friend wasn't exactly the brightest idea. Minato gave him a sympathetic look, but Junpei just started chuckling again.

"We really should give it to one of the teachers," Minato said. Junpei was about to protest, but when he caught sight of Akihiko's scowl, he quickly changed his mind. The three of them headed back into the school building and towards the faculty office. Thankfully enough, they didn't bump into anyone they knew. After knowing the contents of the notebook, they didn't feel like speaking to anyone at all—_especially _Mitsuru…

Akihiko spoke to the teacher on duty, Ms. Suzuki, and handed her the book while Minato and Junpei waited outside. They saw a student come up the hallway and she was just about to enter the office when Akihiko opened the door from the inside. Seeing the worried-faced girl before him, he gentlemanly held the door for her. She walked in without a hint of acknowledgement or gratitude and he was a little annoyed.

Just as Akihiko stepped out, however, Ms. Suzuki said something that made him and the other two outside freeze and stare at one another in pure, utter shock…

"Ah, there you are, Hikaru. Someone has just returned your notebook."

* * *

**A/N: In hindsight, the title of the chapter sort of already gave the ending away. The part I liked writing best was Akihiko's reaction to the many interesting 'stories' he read... Hope you enjoyed it!  
**


	5. Easy Breezy

**A/N: Wow, I'm really on a roll here. Cheers to PreaseatheKitsune and lil-creator for their great feedback on the last chapter. I had the idea for this one a few months back and had actually written it out half-way, but it took me a while to figure out how to conclude it. It's almost as long as the second chapter, which I'm quite pleased about. **

**Title: **Easy Breezy (by Utada Hikaru)

**Summary:** Junpei's perverted mind wanders. Meanwhile, Akihiko gives Mitsuru a lecture on trust in the most unexpected place… (Spoilers for October full moon.)

* * *

"Hey, let's go to Tartarus tonight!" Junpei announced as he came bounding down the stairs into the dining room. Yukari looked up from her cellphone, her forehead furrowed slightly. "I think Mitsuru-senpai's gonna be out late tonight. She said so this afternoon, didn't she, Fuuka?" The brunette looked over to the lounge, where Fuuka was with her laptop.

"Yes," the other junior answered. "We can still go, though; Akihiko-senpai will be around."

"Uh…" Minato, who was sitting in the lounge as well, suddenly voiced out. "He sent me a text message a couple of hours ago. He said he'd be back late tonight, too. Sorry, Junpei. We'll have to go tomorrow night."

"Aw, man, I was in the mood for some ass-kickin'…" sighed Junpei, slumping down on one of the dining room chairs with a face. Nearby, Ken seemed to share his disappointment as well.

"Would the two of them be safe so late at night? I have heard many humans talk about the dangers after dark," Aigis pointed out, looking up from Koromaru to Minato. The blue-head was just about to reply when Junpei, who had been looking a little grumpy, suddenly brightened up and said in a strange, sneaky sort of voice, "Hey, you guys…"

His tone immediately sent Yukari and Minato's 'Junpei-senses' tingling. They eyed him sharply, but the other three simply looked at him, expectant.

"… So both Akihiko-senpai _and_ Mitsuru-senpai aren't here, huh? Heh heh… heh heh heh…"

"What's with that creepy laugh, Stupei?" demanded Yukari, her gaze narrowing.

"Nothing..." He shrugged again. "Just wondering where they both are. Don't you ever think about that?"

They all blinked at him. "Not really," Minato shrugged.

"Come on, man! This isn't the first time! They usually get home after midnight. Don't you ever wonder what they do during the dark hour? One hour… with nobody else but coffins around them…"

"Wait a minute." Yukari shook her head and frowned. "How do you even know they're together? They might be hanging out with their own friends—_separately._"

"Maybe…" Junpei snickered and then paused slyly. "… Or maybe they're hanging out at Shirakawa Boulevard…"

Yukari gasped in shock. _"Junpei!"_ she almost screamed, evoking a helpless chortle from the playful junior. Both Minato and Fuuka went a little red, their expressions stunned and uncomfortable. Aigis was as expressionless as always. Only Ken cocked his head to the side, a puzzled look on his face.

"What's at Shirakawa Boulevard?"

* * *

"I can't _believe_ I let you talk me into this," Akihiko muttered sourly, a hand tugging at the suffocating knot of the tie just below his neck. He looked at the well-dressed people around him, and even though he had donned a neat, black suit, he felt out of place. Beside him, Mitsuru closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "… I seem to recall you saying you'd be happy to do me a favour, Akihiko," she pointed out bluntly.

"I know, but when you were asking the other day, I thought you wanted me to clean your bike or something," he countered in a weary tone. "Even running an errand for the Student Council would have been okay, but keeping you company at a _dance _party?" Akihiko resisted the urge to smack his forehead. Shinji must be laughing his ass off up there…

"I'm not very fond of these things either, but you must understand the Kirijo family has to keep up with appearances," Mitsuru said.

_I'm not a Kirijo,_ Akihiko inwardly retorted, almost pulling his tie loose. Mitsuru waved his hand away and proceeded to correct it with a few firm tugs, thankfully giving him just enough space to breathe. He couldn't help blushing a little when she smoothed his coat down—just across the chest—the way a mother would a child.

"On a completely unrelated note, you're looking very handsome in that suit. A wise choice," she graciously complimented. Before the party, she had her chauffeur bring him to one of the finest boutiques in Iwatodai. His blush deepened and he immediately brought his hands together, rubbing them uneasily. "Uh, well…" he started. "You, uh… you look nice too…" Mitsuru had her hair up and had donned an elegant-looking dress that complemented both her figure and her crimson hair—he really wasn't used to seeing her like that, and that made him a tad uncomfortable. For close to the millionth time that evening, he fervently wished the night was over.

She smiled warmly at his words and was just about to respond when something caught her eye. "Here comes my father," she murmured, edging closer to him; close enough for him to smell her lavender perfume and close enough to make him even more uncomfortable. He felt a hand touch his arm and he instinctively stiffened, his eyes growing wider. _What is she doing? _He wanted to ask her why she felt the need to stand so close to him, but she merely called out politely to Takeharu Kirijo, who was approaching them with a foreign couple in tow, "Good evening, father."

"H-hello, sir." Akihiko forced a smile. The tall, one-eyed man gave a grunt of acknowledgement and turned to the man and woman behind him while gesturing towards Mitsuru. "This is my daughter, Mitsuru," he introduced. "Mitsuru, meet Mr. and Mrs. Claude from the States. They are planning on sending their son as an exchange student to Gekkoukan High next year."

"It's nice to meet you." The red-haired senior politely bowed at the smiling couple, reaching out to shake their hands. Her next words gave Akihiko—whom she was still holding on to—a tremendous shock. "This is my date, Akihiko Sanada," Mitsuru casually said. "We both attend Gekkoukan High. He's the captain of the boxing team."

Akihiko's eyes bulged in amazement and for a moment, he appeared to have forgotten how to blink or even breathe. He merely stared at Mitsuru, completely oblivious to the slightly surprised expression on Takeharu's face.

"A pleasure to meet you, young man," Mr. Claude greeted, interrupting the wild thoughts in Akihiko's head. The boxer spontaneously took the large hand before him and shook it rather weakly. "Uh… you too, sir," he managed to squeak. The next few minutes consisted of idle banter and small talk. Akihiko looked blank, only answering questions from the two guests and not saying anymore. Instead, he stared at Mitsuru most of the time, watching her seemingly normal face. She didn't look at him, and instead acted as if everything she had said before was completely true. He frowned a little as suspicion and curiosity began to gnaw at his guts.

It wasn't until a moment later, when Takeharu brought the American couple to meet some other guests, that Mitsuru released a heavy sigh of relief. Akihiko took this opportunity to ask her in a low hiss, "Okay… what the hell is going on?" He noticed her hands were still on his forearm—he _really_ wasn't comfortable with that, but a tiny part of him didn't seem to actually mind.

He was expecting an answer from her, but instead she took his hand and started to pull him away. "Not here. My father's watching us," she whispered just before she turned. He couldn't help taking a quick glance around and true enough, Takeharu was standing nearby, studying them like a hawk. To say Akihiko was bewildered would be an understatement, but confusion slowly melted away to horror and consternation when he realised she was dragging him to the dance floor. _What the __**hell**__ is going on here?_ The question he had asked her before constantly hammered at his head. As she brought him to the middle of the floor, among the many other swaying couples, instinct made him pull back a little.

"What are you doing?" he stupidly asked in a low, alarmed tone. _Is she out of her mind?_

"Just play along," she replied, taking his right hand and placing it on her slender waist while still holding on to his other hand. He froze at once, his heart pumping almost painfully in his chest, a panicked beat in his head as if a sledgehammer was repeatedly slamming onto his brain. He wondered why she allowed him to hold her like that; the only other time she ever let him touch her waist was when he was riding in the backseat of her motorcycle.

"Follow my lead," she added. He continued to simply stare at her as she fluidly adapted to the tempo of the moderately-paced music, but at the slightest narrowing of her eyes, he hesitantly began to take a few steps. His body awkwardly swayed with her—he tried his best to match his movements with hers but they still came out stiff and clumsy. He tried to remember those slow-dancing scenes the movies on TV usually had, and then recalled, to his chagrin, that he had always just switched the channel.

"You know, guys are usually the ones who lead," Mitsuru pointed out, her breath hot against his throat. He had been concentrating so hard on his steps that he hadn't noticed how close she was to him. The nagging feeling of danger at the back of his neck arose and he unconsciously tightened his grip on her hand. "I'm a boxer, Mitsuru, not a dancer." His blunt rejoinder was one of annoyance, but she made no response to that. "I believe you owe me an explanation…?" he continued.

She sighed again, this time guiltily. "I apologize for my behaviour just now," she softly said. "And… well, I wasn't entirely honest when I asked you to accompany me here tonight…"

"… What do you mean?" He blinked.

"Well, I told you it was just because I didn't want to be alone, but…" she trailed off, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically embarrassed._ This is why you shouldn't lie,_ a dry voice at the back of her mind reminded her. "… I actually had an ulterior motive," she admitted.

His eyes never left hers, curious but staunch. "Ulterior motive, huh?" he repeated hotly. "Let me guess… you wanted me to pretend we're a couple?"

The blush and rare, guilty expression on her face was enough of an answer for him. Once more, he had the urge to smack himself—_hard_. What had he got himself into now? "Oh shit…" he muttered, not even caring that she usually disliked profanities like that. "But why do you want people—and your _father_—to think that you have a boyfriend? Is there some sort of weird competition going on around here? With your father's colleagues' kids or something?"

"Of course not. Don't be silly," she chided.

_So I'm the one being silly now?_ He resisted the desire to bark back. She turned to scan the many people around them before stopping to look at someone who was near the buffet. "Do you see that man there?" She leaned closer to him, nodding the direction. "The one in blue, holding that empty glass?"

"… Yeah?"

"He's Tetsu Kagaya—the only son of the President of Kagaya Industries. I'm sure you've heard of it?"

Akihiko hadn't, but he said nothing and just eyed the man in question. He was tall, black-haired and appeared to be in his early thirties, or perhaps late twenties. He was smiling and talking to another much older woman. "… He looks nice."

"He is, actually. Now look at the other guy to your left—the one in that dark red suit. Daisuke Ryu—he's the youngest son of Hideo Ryu, who co-owns Tamaya Electronics with his cousin, Suneo Ryu."

When Akihiko saw the lanky, sullen-looking man, he couldn't help repeating what Junpei had said once about Yukari, "… He looks like someone just ate his last bon-bon."

Mitsuru chuckled at his words. She spent the next few moments pointing out some other men, most of them in their thirties and pretty much all of them either presidents of companies or sons or nephews of some tycoon. None of them seemed particularly interesting to him, but Akihiko was most impressed by her deep knowledge of them.

"Uh, why are you telling me all this?" he asked at the end of it all.

"The reason I know so much about them is because they're always coming up to me and telling me all about themselves," she explained. "Sometimes it can really be a bore, but that's not the thing that annoys me to no end."

He raised his eyebrows expectantly at her.

"It's their proposals," she said simply.

"Their_ what?_" His eyes widened even more.

"Proposals," she repeated in the type of tone that sounded as if she was talking about something as common as… cookies or chocolate or something…

Akihiko suddenly found himself a little dazed. It appeared that Mitsuru was not only popular in school, but also in the corporate world! He had no idea other people would be approaching her with the intention of marrying her one day. She was already eighteen—one year short of being an adult—but still…!

"They've been talking to my father as well, and though he always shrugs them off, he _has_ spoken to me about one or two of them," Mitsuru sighed. "I think he particularly likes Tetsu Kagaya."

_The guy who's easily fifteen years older than you?_ He had to stop himself from voicing his thoughts. His right hand left hers to once again pull at the knot of his tie and he mumbled, "Oh man… I need a drink."

She gave him a rather sympathetic look as she stopped their dance and led him to one of the more secluded corners of the hall. He grabbed a glass of punch from a waiter and gulped it down in one shot. "… So you thought if you brought along a date that they'd all leave you alone for once?" He turned to her inquiringly. A troubled expression clouded her countenance and she nodded silently.

"Well, it seems to be working. Not one of them has come up to you this evening, right?"

"I'm sorry, Akihiko," she murmured, pushing away a red lock from her vision. "I didn't mean to deceive you. I _wanted_ to tell you when I asked you to come along the other day, but… well, I was sort of embarrassed… It's not exactly a problem any normal girl would have."

When he did not respond, she reached out to touch his arm. He shifted his attention from the dance floor to her. "Are you angry?" she asked softly, in a voice that was almost timid, which, coming from her, was rather odd.

He shook his head. "No… I just wish you'd trust me enough to tell me your problems, Mitsuru. I mean, I had no idea things were so tough on you. I would have been glad to help—you know I'd do anything for you," he said sincerely. "Remember back in Yakushima, when you told me what your father said to you? I think he was right. You shouldn't carry all your burdens by yourself and think you can handle everything on your own. You should trust more in the people around you. That's what friends are for, aren't they? That's what _I'm_ here for, right?"

She studied him with an expressionless face, but one look in her eyes told him she was considering his words very carefully. "… You know I don't like showing any weakness," she finally said, turning away but on impulse, he reached out for her shoulders and forced her to face him once more. She didn't resist, but just stared back, mahogany orbs burning into his soul.

"It's not a weakness," he asserted. "You can't possibly think you can do everything on your own, do you? Isn't that why SEES was established in the first place? Because there's just no way you can fight Shadows all by yourself? 'Nobody's perfect'; you've said so thousands of times. Regardless of how trivial the problem, it's not wrong to ask someone else for help, Mitsuru. Don't ever think otherwise."

He paused, waiting for a response from her, but when he got none, he sighed. "Maybe you can't tell me everything, but I just want you to remember that I'm here for you, okay?" he said almost under his breath.

Mitsuru's gaze softened. She appeared as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just nodded instead, uncharacteristically submissive.

"Oh my, I'm not interrupting, am I?" a melodious, female voice called out. Both of them turned at once just in time to see a plump, beaming lady approaching them. Mitsuru straightened up and smoothed down her dress, giving her a warm smile.

"Good evening, Mrs. Miyagi," she greeted in a cordial tone, as if the previous conversation with Akihiko never happened. "It's good to see you again."

"You're looking very well, Mitsuru dear. Oh, who's this handsome young man?" the lady raised her eyebrows at Akihiko. He exchanged a quick glance with his red-headed companion before giving the lady a gracious bow and sticking out his hand politely.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am. I'm Akihiko Sanada…" he said with a brilliant grin. "… Mitsuru's boyfriend."

* * *

**A/N: I've already finished what I hope will be the final chapter in this collection, but I might still need to do some changes to it. As it stands now, the next chapter will probably be the last, but I'm still not sure yet...**


	6. Until I Say

**A/N: Looks like this isn't going to be the last chapter after all. Apologies for the very late update; I had tonnes of work to do once varsity started. To compensate for that, I've included two new chapters instead of one, and both are rather long, so yay for that. **

**I've proof-read them but let me know if you find any errors.**

**Title: **Until I Say (by Rie Fu)

**Summary: **Ten things he didn't know about her. (Part 1)

* * *

He would never tell her this, but Akihiko's new year's resolution for 2009 was one of the more unusual ones he had had before. For his final year in high school, he decided to get to know Mitsuru better. Sure, they had known each other since middle school, and she was arguably his closest friend after Shinji, but there were still a few blanks about her that he couldn't fill. During the first few years of their friendship, he had noticed that she was a rather private person—a consequence of the somewhat restricted life that she led (or in his opinion, forced upon her at times). He knew growing up without parents was tough, but having a prominent and well-known businessman as a father seemed even more difficult, in her case.

Still, with the determination he instilled in himself for training, he did his best during the year to find—_subtly,_ of course—at least ten things about Mitsuru that he didn't know. Granted, it would have been easier if he had chosen someone else like a fellow classmate or somebody on the boxing team, but Akihiko had always liked a challenge, and when he was in a match, he wanted to win. He knew a lot about her already, but he was sure he'd be able to find out more.

He wondered if she would find the idea amusing or just plain annoying. Perhaps it'd be best if he made sure she never caught on…

o-o-o-o-o

_i._

"Hey, senpai, what are ya up to?" Junpei cheerfully asked as he threw himself down onto the couch, a manga in hand. Opposite him, Akihiko, who was slurping his remaining ramen, arched an eyebrow at him.

"Uh… eating?" the boxer replied in a tone that sounded as if he was talking to an idiot. Junpei either didn't notice or simply ignored it. He gestured towards the book in his grasp, a wide grin on his face. "Check this out. I got the latest volume of _Ball Boy _from the bookstore today," he said proudly. "I've been waiting _weeks_ for it! Heh, good thing I pre-ordered it, huh? I heard they sold out in just over an hour!"

Akihiko merely grunted and shrugged. He liked reading manga too, but not the ones Junpei usually did.

"What's all that racket upstairs anyway?" the junior inquired, flipping to the first page as a loud _thud_ was heard from the ceiling.

"Mitsuru and Yukari are cleaning out one of the rooms for Fuuka. I wanted to help but apparently, no males are allowed in that part of the dorm…" said Akihiko with a roll of his eyes.

"Nyeh, whatever. Less work for us."

Just then, a squeal that sounded distinctively like Yukari's echoed down the stairs, making both boys look up in surprise. Even from the living room, they could hear the quick patter of feet and more soft thuds that came from the third floor. There was a short pause before Mitsuru's voice called out down the two floors, "Akihiko? Are you there?"

"Yeah?" he responded amiably. She cleared her throat rather hastily. "Could you come up here for a minute?"

Junpei shot Akihiko a gleeful look and chuckled, "Heh heh, senpai, looks like you'll be helping out after all."

"Is Iori there too? Get him to come with you." At her words, Junpei's face fell immediately and Akihiko couldn't help the smug expression on his face as the junior sourly put down his manga. Both boys went up to the third floor and found the Yukari and Mitsuru standing by the stairs, appearing hot and bothered. The brunette in particular seemed rather sheepish but Mitsuru looked normal, arms crossed and face neutral.

"Arisato is not back yet?" she asked. Akihiko shook his head.

"What's up, Mitsuru-senpai?" Junpei scratched the back of his neck. "Did you want us to help you with some cleaning?"

"Something like that…" Mitsuru shrugged, not appearing to want to say anymore, and that made a certain silver-haired senior a little suspicious.

"Uh, didn't you say boys aren't allowed in the female rooms or something?" Akihiko pointed out but Mitsuru did not reply and just led them to the room she and Yukari were cleaning out before, gesturing towards something on the floor. "You need to get rid of that," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

The boys peered into the room, staring at the black spot on the wide, empty space before them with raised eyebrows and surprised looks…

"… A cockroach? You called us up here to kill _that?"_ said Akihiko in disbelief. "Why don't you take care of it yourself?"

Near him, Yukari took a step back with an involuntary shudder. "Ugh, I can't even look at it," she said in a pained voice, shaking her head and edging away from the door.

"I'm not going near that thing," Mitsuru said firmly.

Junpei suddenly gave one of his uproarious guffaws. "You girls fight Shadows and you're still afraid of a little bug?" he teased. Yukari flushed at once. Mitsuru cast him a rather cold glare, but Akihiko noticed something flicker in her eyes.

"I'm not afraid of cockroaches," she said in a rather affected tone, which, coming from her, sounded quite unusual. "Do you know the things they actually feed on? They're filthy and disgusting and that's why I'm _not_ going anywhere near them," the redhead pointed out hotly. Her words had no effect on Junpei, though. He continued snickering, nudging Akihiko by the shoulder. "So she says," he whispered.

Mitsuru gave an explosive sigh of annoyance, gritting her teeth. "Iori—" she started in a dangerous tone.

"Okay…!" Akihiko hurriedly stepped in, already having a premonition of Junpei getting 'executed'. He pushed the chuckling junior into the room and grabbed some old newspapers that were lying on the floor, rolling them up quickly. "Let's just get rid of that thing and let the girls get on with their work, shall we?" he said as nonchalantly as he could.

"Hey, Yuka-tan." Junpei looked back, grinning widely. "What if we have to fight a Shadow that takes the form of a cockroach or somethin'? Think you can handle it?"

"Knock it off." Akihiko threw the roll of paper at him, hitting him square in the face. At the door, the two girls were silent, appearing to consider his words very intently. Yukari looked as if she had just seen a ghost, and Mitsuru… well, no matter how hard she tried to hide it, Akihiko still saw the hint of pink on her cheeks and as he turned back to confront the offending bug on the floor, he couldn't help the small smile on his lips.

Oh, there was no way he was going to fall for that speech of hers …

o-o-o-o-o

_**Ten Things I didn't know about Mitsuru:**_

_#1: She's afraid of cockroaches… __regardless__ of what she says…_

o-o-o-o-o

_ii._

"You got it fixed, huh? It looks good as new," remarked Akihiko as he took a step back to admire the gleaming motorcycle before him. Nearby, Mitsuru smiled as she capped the bottle of wax and tucked it away in the cupboard, pleased.

"Yes, they did a good job at the garage. I'm very happy at how it turned out."

"I thought you'd be scrapping it after what happened."

"I did consider that, to be honest," she replied truthfully. "But after thinking about it for a while, I decided not to. It means a lot to me… having a motorcycle, that is."

The melancholic tone in her voice shifted his eyes to her and he was surprised to find her staring at the bike with such fondness. "So… you never told me, but why did you get it?" he asked. "I mean, I know you like riding it, but sometimes it seems to me like there's more to that motorcycle than you're letting on."

It was one of those moments she wondered how he could be so perceptive at times. Moving closer to the bike, she ran a hand almost lovingly along the leather seat and answered softly, "I got it because my father didn't like the idea."

He blinked at her. "What?"

"Consider it my very pathetic attempt of a youthful rebellion," she said with a thin smile.

"… I'm finding it really hard to imagine you being anything but a good, obedient daughter." He couldn't help the rather teasing tone. She laughed quietly at his words, fingers pushing back her crimson bangs.

"Yes, I'm sure that's what everyone else thinks as well." She nodded. "That's why I wanted to be impulsive for once; to do something I shouldn't. I wanted to know how defying my father—and my life—felt."

He raised his eyebrows, shifting his weight to his other foot and slipping gloved hands into his pockets. "Your life, huh?"

She sighed and shut her eyes for a moment, crossing her arms. "You know how it is for me…" she mumbled. "As a Kirijo, everything is already set out in front of me, be they responsibilities I can never escape from in the future, or unforgivable sins in the past."

Akihiko frowned a little at what she said. "What your grandfather did was not your fault, Mitsuru. You should know that by now."

She gave him another wan smile and sat herself down on the seat of the motorbike. "You're starting to sound like my father; he's always telling me that. I used to agree with him, but now, I'm not so sure anymore…" Mitsuru averted her gaze from his, crossing her arms with a wistful expression. "I know there's nothing we can do to change my grandfather's mistakes, but regardless, it's a burden my family has to bear, whether we like it or not. No matter what people tell me, it's still a weight I have to carry—a mistake I have to rectify, because even though I'm nothing like my grandfather, his blood runs through my veins, and that's just something I have to deal with."

He found himself loss for words, unable to think of anything to say about that. Akihiko knew that although her life appeared perfect to everyone around them, most of the time it was the complete opposite. People didn't realise just how hard she sometimes tried to uphold the good impression she gave them. There was more to Mitsuru than just her beauty, wealth and intelligence. She had pretty much anything everyone else wanted, but most of the time, he sensed that the one thing she really yearned was her freedom.

"You know something?" she said quietly, breaking the brief silence between them. Her fingers were unconsciously grazing the smooth surface of the bike and she was staring outside with a distant look in her eyes. "Sometimes… I feel like jumping on this and just riding away—far from everything I have here. I've fantasized about how it'd be like to not have to worry about anything, or how different things would be if I hadn't been born a Kirijo…" She paused, shaking her head slightly. "But everytime I think about that, I want to hit myself. It's selfish of me to ever have thoughts like so, and I'm ashamed of that…"

As Akihiko listened silently, he found himself edging closer to the motorcycle and resting his back against the nearby wall, raising his gaze to the clear, blue sky. It was almost summer and the warm breeze testified to that. His eyes shifted to some children who were running around energetically on the playground directly opposite the dorm garage, watching them laugh and giggle without a care in the world.

"You're not selfish, Mitsuru," he began earnestly. "It's human nature to want things we don't have, to be people we're not, or to get the easiest way out of anything we don't like. You shouldn't be too hard on yourself for having those thoughts—they're something everyone else has some time or other in their lives. In the end, the important thing is that instead of running away, you faced everything head on regardless of how you feel or how much you hate them, and that just shows how strong you really are. Honestly… that's what I admire most about you. Your strength… here—" He patted his chest. "—and here." His finger moved to his forehead. "It's not something everyone has, you know?"

Mitsuru cocked her head to the side slightly, studying him with a thoughtful expression. His words stirred a warm feeling within her—she was deeply touched and flattered by him. They had been friends for years but this was the first he had ever been that honest with her. Strangely enough, she didn't know what to say to him after that, so she just kept quiet.

Each suddenly silent and still, they were staring at one another when a short beep was heard. Akihiko gave an involuntary start as his cellphone vibrated in his pocket and he hastily took it out. It was a text message from the vice-captain of the boxing team.

"Dammit, I forgot about practice," he muttered with an annoyed frown, getting off the wall he was leaning on.

"Get your stuff and I'll give you a ride," she offered. He paused, considering the option, and then nodded. "Yeah, sure. Thanks."

Mitsuru stood there with crossed arms, gazing after him as he disappeared behind the door. When she was alone, she let out a heavy sigh, shutting her eyes for a second.

"… I should be the one thanking _you_, Akihiko…" she said under her breath.

o-o-o-o-o

_#2: She sees her motorcycle as a means of escaping from reality at times. Her father had been against the idea, but she bought it anyway. _

o-o-o-o-o

_iii._

"Akihiko, stop it!"

He barely recalled hearing those words and feeling the stinging slap on his cheek. The only thing he remembered was seeing tussles of red, feeling firm hands pushing against his chest and a struggling body underneath him…

Realizing he was on top of someone… on top of _her…_

The moment he saw her face, he leapt off in alarm, almost falling over the edge of the bed they had been lying on. Panicked thoughts rushed through his mind at once as he took in the sight before him. Mitsuru was sitting up, wide-eyed, clad only in a pink towel that showed far too much of her skin for his comfort. Her hair was wet and she looked uncharacteristically flustered. He gasped and averted his gaze immediately, taking a few steps away and turning to face the wall.

"I-I'm sorry, Mitsuru, I… I don't know what came over me," he stammered, clearly very distressed.

"It's okay…" Her response was very quiet.

He was too caught up in his own jumbled thoughts to realize how similar her feelings were to his. What had they been doing? The last thing he remembered was defeating that Shadow. He didn't remember entering this room at all, or seeing Mitsuru like this (or getting _atop _of her, for that matter). Were they kissing? Did he touch her in places he shouldn't have? Why was she in a towel? Were they _doing things?_ His heart jumped to his throat and he looked down to feel about his clothes. He wasn't missing anything. A wave of relief flowed through him, but regardless, the word _**execution **_popped into his head at once and before he could stop himself, he found his own voice almost yelling in panic, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Akihiko!" Her sharp tone commanded his eyes to meet hers, as much as he didn't want to see her in such a state again. Her expression was one of slight puzzlement. "I told you, it's okay. I'm not mad," she said. "It wasn't your fault... Clearly, we weren't… we weren't ourselves..."

"… I don't remember anything, except that we fought that Shadow with the others." He couldn't help the rather defensive tone.

"I can't remember anything either," she admitted. "Nothing since that battle. It's as if… something's trying to mess with our heads… It might have been another Shadow, or possibly the same one we were fighting. Maybe we didn't really defeat it…"

He bit his lip, still unable to shake off the feelings of guilt in his guts. "Did I hurt you?" he asked softly. "Did I… do_ anything_ to you?" He remembered her struggling below him, the sharp smack on his face. What exactly had he been doing to her?

Her cheeks turned a little pink and she shifted uncomfortably. "I-I don't know. I don't think so… When I came to, you were already—" She broke off and crossed her arms, as if just realizing how scantily dressed she was. "Can we… not talk about it?" she said and quickly changed the subject. "We should find Arisato and Takeba. Hopefully, Yamagishi will be able to contact us soon. We need to find that Shadow before it tries another mental attack again." He nodded mutely. As she got off the bed, he looked away again, but this time, couldn't help stealing involuntary glances at her as she retreated into the bathroom.

It was then that he noticed the mark that marred her pale, flawless skin; on the left side of her thigh, above her knee. It looked like a nasty scar, but from his point of view, he couldn't see just how deep it was, or how long it extended under her towel. She disappeared into the bathroom and he stood there waiting, scanning the room to look for anything suspicious, but nothing seemed amiss. The only hint of what had happened was the wrinkled sheets on the bed. Still feeling a little uneasy, he felt his outfit again thoroughly. His vest was not unbuttoned at all and his belt was buckled the way he usually did every morning. He sighed heavily. It appeared that nothing did happen between them. He would have never forgiven himself if he had found out that he had forced himself on her, even if they were both not in their right minds.

When Mitsuru came out, she was dressed in her school uniform, though her hair was still damp. She retrieved her rapier that was lying on the corner of the room and then looked at him with a concerned expression. "I'm sorry I hit you," she murmured.

He touched his cheek and shrugged. "I didn't even feel a thing," he said truthfully. The next words on the tip of his tongue was a question about the scar he saw, but when she turned to the door, cautiously opening it, he stopped himself just in time. Now wasn't the right moment for such a conversation. They had to find the others quickly and take care of that Shadow.

o-o-o-o-o

_#3: She has a scar on the left side of her thigh.  
_

o-o-o-o-o

_iv._

"… 'Operation Babe Hunt', huh?" He had been studying the many photographs in the living room, but at the sound of her voice, Akihiko spun around at once, his eyes growing wide. His red-headed friend was standing by the doorway, an eyebrow raised delicately, her expression amused. He stared at her, completely speechless for a moment, before saying, "What?"

"Iori was just telling us how the three of you spent the day." Mitsuru gestured towards the room next door, where the karaoke bar was. He could still hear Ikutsuki-san singing faintly. "I didn't know you were the type to… 'pick up girls', as he would say," she pointed out.

_That… stupid idiot! _"… I was testing myself. When I'm in a match, I wanna win," he muttered defensively, a hand reaching up to scratch his head. Then he swiftly changed the subject, "Were you looking for me? Or am I not supposed to be here?"

"No, you're fine. Why aren't you joining us, though? You disappeared after the chairman started his third song…" An involuntary smile touched her lips, evoking a chuckle from him.

"Oh, I think you know why," he joked and she laughed. He turned back to the pictures he had been looking at and nodded towards one that had a young couple on it. "This is the first time I've seen your mother. She's beautiful." Akihiko wasn't one who would normally comment on such things, but it was the first thought in his mind when he had seen the gentle look in the lady's eyes. It roused a sort of cosy, pleasant emotion in him. Suddenly, he wondered what his own parents had been like…

"Thank you. They took that picture on their second anniversary, I was told. My mother was two-months pregnant with me then," Mitsuru said, stepping up beside him.

"There're quite a few pictures of you as a kid," he pointed out, scanning some nearby photographs of a beaming little girl. To be honest, he actually found it hard to imagine her as a toddler or pre-teen.

She nodded good-naturedly. "No embarrassing moments, thankfully, though this one here—" Mitsuru pointed at a picture showing her much younger self standing at the top of a slide, looking as if she had just conquered a mountain. "—was taken just before I had a little accident…"

"Really? What happened?"

"Well, you can't see it from here, but there was a little bit of metal jutting out at the end of the slide and as I came down, it sliced through my skirt and gave me a rather nasty cut," she explained. When he noticed her hand touching the area near her left knee, he was reminded of what he had seen back in the hotel at Shirakawa Boulevard (as much as he didn't want to recall that memory…). "My father said I bawled my eyes out after that. Apparently, I was crying so loudly I scared some of the other children away," continued Mitsuru with a little laugh.

"… So that's how you got that scar?" His question caused her to stiffen immediately and turn to him with a surprised but slightly wary expression. He quickly answered before she jumped to any conclusions, "Sorry, I couldn't help but notice when we were at the… uh, I mean… the last full-moon, we…"

"The hotel," she mumbled in a tone that sounded as if she had suddenly remembered the embarrassing incident as well.

"Yeah." Akihiko shrugged, his cheeks flaming and a familiar feeling of discomfort creeping up the back of his neck. They hadn't spoken about it since that night. Feeling the light tension between them, he moved away from her and settled his attention on an ornately-framed picture of an elderly man. He voiced the first thing that popped into his head, "Who's this?"

"… My grandfather," Mitsuru replied after a pause.

"Your grandfather? The one who…" He looked at her and she nodded. He was a little taken aback by her answer. When she used to mention him, Akihiko always thought of her grandfather as a mean, bad-tempered tyrant, but the man in the photograph, although unsmiling, had a kind look about him. Frowning slightly, Akihiko stared at the picture, finding himself unable to imagine that _this_ was the person who had caused everything—the Dark Hour, Shadows, Tartarus…

Mitsuru saw his expression and sighed softly, going to one of the luxurious couches and sitting down. "I know what you're thinking," she shrewdly said. "He doesn't seem like the kind of man who would do what he did, right?"

"Well… from what you've told me about him, I guess I just got a different impression."

She crossed her arms and legs, leaning back against the couch and said, "That was a mistake on my part. Now that I think about it, everytime I talked about him in the past, it was always regarding his research and experiments of Shadows, not him as a person."

Intrigued, Akihiko turned at her expectantly. "And how was he, as a person?" he asked.

A distant look glazed over her eyes. She ran a hand in her hair and smiled faintly. "He was… very kind and loving," she murmured. "Back when I was younger, he used to bring me here for vacations when my father was too busy. He bought me my first ice-cream, my first bar of chocolate, the first doll I ever had… Whenever he went to Europe on business, he always brought me back something from France. He'd tell me stories about his travels, about my father when he was a child, and my mother before her death. He gave me books, came to my plays, helped me with my school projects..."

Her words surprised him. Akihiko had no idea she had been so close to her grandfather. Then Mitsuru sighed again, this time pensively. "But in spite of that," she added. "He was madly obsessed with Shadows. Well, he still is now…"

Again, he was stunned. "What? He's… alive?" Now _that_ was something Akihiko had never thought about at all. She nodded. "He lives in Kobe now, at a rest home. His mind is…" She paused, biting her lip. "… fragile. He can't remember much about everything that's happened. He's forgotten a lot about my father and me. Most of the time, he talks about Shadows—about their power, their behaviour, _anything_ about them. I try to visit whenever I can, but he usually doesn't even recognize me."

Akihiko watched as her attention was subconsciously drawn to the photograph he had been studying, melancholia clouding her countenance. His gaze softened. "You love him, don't you?"

"… Yes," she whispered. "Even though I want to hate him for what happened in the past, I still can't help but love the person he was. I get angry when I think about how he had no right to do what he did with the Shadows. If it weren't for his selfish needs, things would be much simpler now… and my father wouldn't be—" She broke off suddenly, leaving the sentence hanging. Regardless, he understood what she was getting at. Mitsuru fell silent for a moment, and then continued under her breath, "If it weren't for him, we'd all be _normal_; no Personas, no Dark Hour, no risking our lives every night, no unnecessary deaths. It infuriates me, but when I think about everything he's ever done for me, I… I just can't bring myself to hate him."

As she turned away, Akihiko thought he saw her eyes glistening, but before he could say anything, the door practically crashed open and Junpei stuck his head in. "Hey, Senpai! Ikutsuki-san's _finally_ gone now. Come join us for some karaoke!" he called out cheerfully.

It was strange how his bright, excited tone managed to dissipate the gloom in the air, and for once, Akihiko was actually thankful for the interruption. Mitsuru had gotten up from the couch and was already moving to the door, her expression neutral.

"Akihiko-senpai, you not comin'?" Junpei's voice brought him back to reality and he realized he had simply been standing there staring off into the distance. "Minato and I will be trying to get Aigis-san to sing, you know… C'mon, you know you don't wanna miss that!"

"The hell? Why would I even care?" Annoyed, Akihiko frowned and narrowed his gaze at the junior. A stifled chuckle that sounded remarkably like Mitsuru's reached his ears. He shook his head with a sigh and quickly walked over to them. Before he shut the door, he couldn't help sneaking one last look at the photograph of the man who, despite his past errors, remained loved by the one person who should have hated him the most.

o-o-o-o-o

_#3: She has a scar on the left side of her thigh._ _It was from a childhood accident. _

_#4: She loves her grandfather in spite of his actions in the past. He is actually still alive, living at a rest home in Kobe. _

o-o-o-o-o

_v._

As she walked through the front doors of the dorm, Mitsuru heaved a sigh of relief. She had just returned from the Summer Festival with Aigis, who, upon setting foot in the dorm, had immediately announced that she was retiring into her room to recharge. Placing her bag on the nearby counter, the redhead wanted nothing more than to just sit down and have a relaxing cup of tea with a slice of that divine chocol—

"Hey, you're back. Had fun?" Akihiko's voice burst her bubbles of thoughts. She turned and found him on one of the couches. Ken was sitting in the dining room, reading. The others were nowhere to be found.

"Hello. No, not really… I spent most of the time—" Mitsuru started to say, but suddenly stopped, staring at the silver-haired boxer with widening eyes. He was munching something and stared back at her in surprise, but her attention wasn't on him. Oh no, it was on the little plate he was holding; the little plate that had on it a small piece of something brown, soft and deliciously coated in rich, mouth-watering cocoa icing…

"Mitsuru?"

"Is that—" She had to take a deep breath to stop her blood pressure from skyrocketing. "… Is that my chocolate cake?"

At her words, Akihiko's chewing jaw gradually slowed down to a stop, his own eyes beginning to grow as big as saucers. "What?"

"Is that my _chocolate cake?" _she repeated, taking a step closer to him and making him instinctively shrink back in his seat. "Uh… yes?" he managed to squeak.

"… Why are you eating my chocolate cake?" Her tone was calm but he could sense how forced it was. In the dining room, Ken looked up from his book, silently watching their amusing exchange with interest.

"Uh…" Akihiko swallowed quickly. "Because you gave it to me?"

"_Why _would I give you the last slice of my chocolate cake?"

He was beginning to think she loved the words 'chocolate cake' as much as she loved tea. "Because… I helped you clean your bike?"

"… When did I ever say I'd give you my chocolate cake—the cake I can _only_ get from that little French bakery in Tokyo—for cleaning my bike?"

"When you told me to get my thank-you gift from the fridge?" Akihiko was getting a little tired of answering her questions with even more questions. She gave a loud sigh of exasperation, fingers reaching up to massage the bridge of her nose wearily. "When I said _gift_, Akihiko…" she said through gritted teeth, walking to the kitchen and pulling the fridge open, a wave of cool air hitting her hot cheeks. "… I meant this!" She took out a bottle of expensive energy drink; the type that workout buffs and bodybuilders usually drank.

Akihiko blinked, suddenly finding himself speechless. To be honest, he didn't even notice the drink when he was looking through the fridge. The first thing he had seen was one thick slice of chocolate cake on a plate and he had immediately pounced on it, very pleased that Mitsuru was finally letting him try the cake she always seemed to enjoy. And now…

_That __**damned**__ cake…!_ "Uh…" He_ really_ didn't know what to say.

"Akihiko, do you know what kept me going the past two hours at the festival with Aigis?" Mitsuru asked dangerously, her gaze narrowing, a warning glint in her eyes. "The thought of finally being able to come home and have a nice cup of tea with my_ chocolate cake."_

By that moment, Ken had to press his lips together to keep from laughing as he watched for Akihiko's reaction. The boxer could only goggle at the glaring redhead in helplessness, still lost for words.

"Um…" Swallowing the lump in his throat, Akihiko lifted the plate and the pathetic remains of the cake towards her weakly and feebly said, "There's still _some_ left, if you want…"

Mitsuru's eyebrows arched up even higher and a strangled sort of growl escaped her throat, sending warning signals to Akihiko and threatening to make Ken laugh out loud. She took a deep breath and turned to the young boy, giving him a bright smile and saying as calmly as she could, "Amada, would you kindly give the two of us a minute, please?"

All Akihiko could do was stare at her, almost in despair and panic.

"Sure thing, Mitsuru-senpai." Ken slid off his chair and sauntered to the stairs, seemingly nonchalant. He couldn't help flashing Akihiko a wide, cheesy grin, though, and as the dark-haired boy left the seniors, only two words crashed into the boxer's head…

_Oh __**shit**__…_

o-o-o-o-o

_#5: … As I learnt the hard way today, she really, __really__ likes her chocolate cake. X__--X_


	7. Champagne From A Straw

**Title: **Champagne From A Straw (by Andrea Corr)

**Summary:** Ten things he didn't know about her. (Part 2)

* * *

_vi. _

_#6: She has a disturbing female admirer/stalker. (Damn you, Junpei, for finding that notebook!!)_

o-o-o-o-o

_vii._

"Wacky Meal for Shinji, double-cheeseburger for me and… Wild Duck Special for Mitsuru," Akihiko announced cheerfully as he distributed the food from the tray to each of them, setting himself down on a seat.

"Starving," grunted Shinji as he tore the paper off his burger. "Thanks, Aki."

The boxer gave him a good-natured grin and began to unwrap his own food, stopping when he saw Mitsuru carefully examining her meal and looking as if she was searching for something among the serviettes. "… Uh, Mitsuru? Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh no. Just wondering what's the best way to go about eating this. I have never had fast food before..."

Shinji and Akihiko both paused in astonishment and raised their eyebrows at her. "The hell? You've never had fast food before?" the former said in disbelief. "No wonder you wanted to try this place out. What the hell did you eat when you were growing up?"

"We had a cook at home," Mitsuru answered in a tone that implied as if everybody walking down the street had their own chefs. "Plus, our family dietician banned fast food from our menus." The two boys stared at her again before Shinji unexpectedly gave an amused chuckle. "You really should spend more time with Aki and me, Mitsuru," he said.

"Just take it out and eat it," said Akihiko, gesturing towards her burger. "Like Shinji."

Mitsuru looked slightly stunned at his words and she stared at them blankly for a moment. "Eating with your hands? Isn't that a little… primitive?" she inquired. Her troubled tone evoked another snicker from Shinji, who picked up some fries and munched on them.

"Primitive or not, everyone does it," he said, nodding towards the other people around them.

Mitsuru cocked her head to the side, resuming her study of the packet in her hands, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Well… I suppose if it's fast food etiquette…" She started to peel off the wrapper and, considering her nature, it was almost as if she was doing it as elegantly as she could, which brought an involuntary smile on Akihiko's lips. After having a comfortable grip on her food, she lifted it to her mouth and took a small, almost tentative bite. Her two companions watched her silently as she chewed, each very much amused.

"It's very good," she remarked with one of her quiet smiles.

"Bet it beats anything your cook ever made for ya, huh?" Shinji couldn't help saying, thinking how different their worlds really were even though they had been friends for a while now.

"I can't believe you've never had burgers like this before. You're missing out on a lot of good things, Mitsuru." Akihiko grinned.

"Well… there's a first time for everything, right?" she replied, sounding slightly embarrassed. "On a more interesting note, I wonder how much the average cost per burger is. For them to sell it at such a reasonable price makes me wonder just how much profit they get from one of these. Perhaps the Kirijo Corporation should branch out to the fast food industry, seeing as how there are lots of people like the both of you around…"

By the end of that, the boys were staring at her, their jaws moving very slowly as they munched their food almost in bewilderment. "Mitsuru…" started Shinji flatly. "… How the hell did eating a burger make you think about economics?"

o-o-o-o-o

_#7: She has never tasted fast food before until today!!_

o-o-o-o-o

_viii. _

"Are you crazy?" Akihiko barked. "There's no way you're going to go back to the dorm like that! We need to take you to the hospital."

"Aki's right. That arm looks pretty bad…" said Shinji in his usual gruff tone. Beside him, the rest of the SEES members nodded in agreement. The redhead in question was nursing her upper arm, the white sleeve of her blouse stained crimson.

"It's not a big deal," she said nonchalantly. "I—"

"Diarama didn't even work on that Shadow's bite! We've got to get a doctor to look at it. You're going to the hospital and that's final," stated Akihiko firmly with a deep frown. He met her glare with a staunch face, as if challenging her to argue, but she said nothing.

"I think you should go too, Senpai," Fuuka said rather timidly, noticing the flash of annoyance in Mitsuru's eyes.

"… Fine, I'll go to the hospital," the senior muttered. She paused and then added, "Tomorrow."

"No…" Akihiko corrected her slowly. "You're going _now."_

"But I'm tired." Was it just him, or did he detect a sort of whininess in her voice? Regardless, he still didn't want to give in.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but you're still going." He was uncharacteristically persistent. He nodded towards her motorbike and continued, "And since you're tired, looks like you'll be the one in the backseat this time."

By then, Shinji couldn't resist the wry smile on his face and he turned away to hide it. His two closest friends were still shooting daggers at each other with their eyes. Mitsuru looked as if she was going to wring someone's neck soon, but Akihiko merely stared back defiantly.

"We'll see you back at the dorm, then. You okay to take her by yourself?" Shinji asked the boxer, who nodded. As the rest of the SEES members left the Tartarus, there was another glaring competition between the two agitated seniors before Mitsuru finally relinquished the keys to her motorcycle. Despite the gravity of the situation, Akihiko couldn't help the small burst of excitement within him as he hopped onto the bike. He felt her grudgingly slide into the seat behind him. Her hands rested at his waist before suddenly tightening into a death grip, two handfuls of fabric in her clutches. His face burning, he gritted his teeth, clearly irritated, but remained silent anyway.

They reached the hospital just as the Dark Hour ended. He signed her in and they were taken to the Kirijo family doctor, who, luckily enough for them, was working the night shift. He was a grey-haired man with a cheerful disposition, despite his rather stern face.

"You said it's from a Shadow?" Dr. Ozawa carefully inspected her injury. "I can't find anything out of the ordinary. It appears to be just like any other wound you'd get from an animal's bite. Fortunately, it doesn't seem very deep… We'll get it cleaned and bandaged, hmm?"

A nurse brought Mitsuru into the next room to take care of her wound. Dr. Ozawa penned something down on the file before him and then turned to Akihiko with a smile. "So, Sanada-san, are your ribs giving you any discomfort?"

"No, they're fine now, thanks," Akihiko replied gratefully. Dr. Ozawa had also been his physician back in April. A couple of minutes later, Mitsuru came back with her arm bandaged, looking a little weary.

"Could you not tell my father about this, please? I don't want him to worry," she told the doctor, who nodded understandingly.

"Um, Mitsuru, wait," Dr. Ozawa hesitantly called out when he saw her beckoning Akihiko to leave. She turned to him as he got up, gesturing towards her arm. "…I'm afraid you're going to have to get a shot for that wound."

Her reaction to the doctor's words mystified Akihiko. Mitsuru was standing there, rooted to the ground, suddenly stiff and rigid, her face visibly darkening. "W-what?" she almost whispered.

"You must understand… we can't risk the possibility of tetanus or some other infection, especially since you got that from a Shadow. I'm going to have to give you a shot, just in case."

When Mitsuru did not respond, Dr. Ozawa sighed and nodded towards a nearby bed. "Take a seat, Mitsuru. It'll be over before you know it," he said kindly before disappearing into the next room. Akihiko was staring at the redhead in surprise, noticing how pale she was turning.

"Mitsuru, are you okay? What's wrong?" he worriedly asked, a hand reaching out to touch her shoulder. She swallowed hard and shook her head. "Nothing," she mumbled, walking over to the bed like a zombie and sitting down. An awkward silence filled the air as Akihiko watched her, wondering what was on her mind. She was breathing rather quickly, he noticed.

The moment Dr. Ozawa appeared again with a syringe in his gloved hand, she started to hyperventilate faster, squirming uncomfortably on the bed.

_Wait a minute… _Akihiko arched an eyebrow up. _Is she… afraid?_

"Just relax. It'll be over before you know it," Dr. Ozawa repeated in a patient tone. When he moved closer to her, she edged away at once, shaking her head. "Wait!" she cried out. "Give me a minute… Please… I need to…" She breathed in and out deeply, hands clasped tightly.

It was a side of Mitsuru Akihiko had never seen before. Even after that incident at Shirakawa Boulevard, the panicked look in her eyes seemed so new to him and her behaviour was so discomforting. Before he knew it, he found himself sitting next to her, reaching out for a hand and holding it reassuringly. "It's going to be okay," he said. Her amber eyes shifted to him, unsure but glad for his support.

"… Alright, Mitsuru?" Dr. Ozawa asked slowly after he had rolled up her sleeve. She kept her gaze on Akihiko, who stared back at her with an encouraging expression. He gave her hand a little squeeze.

"Okay…" she answered in a small voice. At that moment, Akihiko couldn't help deciding that he sort of liked seeing her so vulnerable for a change, but when the doctor carefully inserted the needle into her arm, he changed his mind at once. Mitsuru's fingers spontaneously tightened around the boxer's hand, almost crushing his digits with strength he honestly didn't know she possessed. The soft, involuntary whimper from her throat was drowned by his yelp.

"All done!" announced Dr. Ozawa brightly, flashing a grin at the redhead, who looked as if she had just been deeply traumatized by a horrific event. "You did very well, Mitsuru, and thanks for lending a hand, Sanada-san."

Akihiko had snatched back his hand the moment the doctor started talking, flexing and rubbing his aching fingers tenderly. "Okay, you're free to go now. You should go back and get some rest. You have school tomorrow, don't you?" Dr. Ozawa asked. "Oh, and come see me _immediately_ if there's anything abnormal about the wound—or yourself, of course."

"… Uh, yes," Mitsuru answered quietly as she tugged her sleeve back down and got up from the bed. "Thank you for everything."

Without waiting for a response, she quickly left the room with Akihiko, who was still massaging his hand. As they walked back to her motorcycle, she turned to him, looking strangely demure. "Sorry," she said with an apologetic expression.

"… That was interesting," he just remarked although he wanted to say so much more. Despite the fact that she wasn't one who blushed easily, her face was already turning a lovely shade of red.

"I'm... uh… very embarrassed you had to see that." Her words were almost inaudible.

_Actually, I quite liked seeing you freak out, _was the first thing that popped into his head but he refrained from verbalizing that thought. Instead, he simply shrugged. "It's no big deal," he said and, wanting to rid the awkwardness, smoothly changed the subject, "So, you wanna ride back this time?" He dangled the keys in front of her.

She shook her head. "You ride," she mumbled.

The journey back to the dorm was as uneventful as the trip to the hospital, only this time, Akihiko found himself having a silly smile plastered on his face during the whole ride.

o-o-o-o-o

_#8: She is terrified of injections. I wonder if it's because of a bad experience in the past…?_

o-o-o-o-o

_ix._

"… So, are things between you and Mitsuru serious, Sanada?" Takeharu Kirijo broke the awkward silence with his blunt question. Sitting directly opposite him in the limousine, Akihiko started to sweat profusely and stared at the older man with a dismayed look on his face. Beside him, Mitsuru just sighed.

"Father, we were only pretending. I was tired of men coming up to me and asking me to marry them, so I had Akihiko come along," she said. Her father looked at her with an unreadable expression (much like one of her own, Akihiko noticed) and took a sip of the whisky in his glass.

"I thought you didn't mind Kagaya's son." His tone was a little defensive.

"That's only because he's the lesser of… what was it, fifty other evils?" She rolled her eyes and sighed again, reaching up to undo her hair. Akihiko could smell the scent of her shampoo, but he merely sat as stiffly as he could, gluing his eyes to the streetlights outside and trying not to think about how _uncomfortable_ this whole situation was. He really hadn't been expecting to ride back to the dorm with her father.

The rest of the trip was peaceful; no questions, no remarks, no words exchanged. Akihiko didn't need any sign to tell him that Mitsuru's father was watching him, though—he could practically _sense_ it. The boxer's fists clenched slowly. Over the past years, he thought that he had at least overcome Takeharu's scary first impression, but right then, even knowing that the man was actually a nice guy didn't help his state one bit.

_Why is he… staring so hard…?_ Akihiko wanted to groan. As if his night hadn't been bad enough…

His heart leapt happily when their dorm came into sight and he had to stop himself just in time from releasing a loud sigh of relief. As the limo slowed down and halted in front of the building, his hand immediately reached for the door, but it was locked.

"Thank you, Father, for a lovely evening," Mitsuru said, giving Takeharu a kiss on his cheek. As usual, her formality puzzled Akihiko a little, who really thought their relationship was a tad strange.

"Uh, thanks, sir," Akihiko mumbled as she stepped out. He tried his door again but it was still locked. He looked around for any sort of button or latch and, finding none, he blinked, perplexed.

"Huh? Father, what are you—" Mitsuru's voice was cut off by a slam. Akihiko looked up in confusion and froze, noticing two things. One, Takeharu had his hand on the other door, and two, said man was staring at him again. His pulse hiked at once. What was going on?

"I'll get straight to the point, Sanada," Takeharu said in his deep voice, ignoring Mitsuru's surprised calls and taps on the window from the outside. He set his drink aside and leaned forward. "And I want you to be honest with me, alright?"

Akihiko felt as if he was going to get interrogated. "Uh, y-yes, sir," he blurted.

"… What are your intentions towards my daughter?"

To say that Akihiko was baffled would have been the understatement of the year. The platinum-haired senior simply stared at the man, agog. "I…" he started, willing himself to stay calm. "I don't understand what you mean, sir."

"Are the two of you seeing each other? Are you her boyfriend?"

_He's actually serious,_ a voice remarked in Akihiko's head. Taking a deep breath, he looked straight into Takeharu's… eye… and truthfully said, "Sir, Mitsuru and I are just friends—_team mates._ We're not dating. Everything that happened at the dinner party was a charade. She asked me to help her as a favour and I did. There's absolutely _nothing_ between us at all."

By the end of that short speech, Takeharu had sat back in his seat with a strange expression on his face. Akihiko couldn't pinpoint exactly what the man was feeling, but it looked sort of like a mixture of disappointment and relief, if that was even possible…

"I see," said Takeharu, nodding slightly. He reached over to a panel just by his side to press a button that unlocked both doors. When Akihiko peered outside, he saw that Mitsuru had given up trying to see what her father had been up to. She was standing by the front doors of the dorm, arms crossed and face curious.

"Good night, sir," Akihiko said pleasantly, getting out of the limo. Just before the door closed, however, Takeharu called out quietly, "A moment, Sanada."

Akihiko turned back to him, wondering what it was this time. The head of the Kirijo Group was silent for a second, and then he said softly, "I haven't been around Mitsuru a lot these years, but I can tell that you are one of the few she deeply trusts."

The boxer bit his lip and replied earnestly, "It's a two-way street, sir. I'd gladly trust her with my life as well."

"… If something were to happen to me, I want you to take care of her, understood?" His words took Akihiko off-guard, but even before the stunned senior could respond, the door closed and the limo sped off, leaving him staring after the car's taillights.

"So, what did my father want to speak to you about?" Mitsuru's voice made him turn to her, still a little dazed. Her eyebrows were raised expectantly, but he just sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing the back of his neck wearily.

It was going to be a _really_ long night…

o-o-o-o-o

_#9: For the past few months (or years…?!) she has been getting numerous marriage proposals from random big shots in the corporate world. _

o-o-o-o-o

_x._

"Wow, this stew looks really good, Fuuka," Yukari said admiringly as everyone, save for Aigis and Koromaru, took their seats at the dining table. Fuuka had cooked dinner for them that evening and she had decided on an English stew recipe she had found on the internet. Each of them had a bowl of creamy, steaming soup before them.

"Thanks, Yukari-chan. I just hope I didn't mess up the recipe…" the green-haired junior said nervously.

"Alright, let's eat! I'm starving!" Junpei chirped brightly, dipping his spoon into the stew for a generous mouthful. Minato, Akihiko and Ken followed suit but stopped when an alarmed exclamation came from Mitsuru. The redhead had taken a spoonful of the stew but suddenly spat it back out (as politely as she could), got up and rushed to the kitchen sink for a glass of water.

At her reaction, the others at the table froze immediately. Everyone except Fuuka exchanged stunned glances with one another. "Uh, guess I'm not hungry after all!" announced Junpei with a watery grin as he set his spoon down. Yukari and Minato were biting their lips, staring at their bowls anxiously, while Akihiko and Ken looked at each other, lost. Fuuka appeared as if she was going to burst into tears.

"I'm terribly sorry for that, everyone. It was very rude of me," Mitsuru apologized when she returned to the table a moment later, picking up her bowl. "Yamagishi, is there pumpkin in this stew?"

"Um, yes..." Fuuka answered in a dejected tone.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to have it, then," said Mitsuru regrettably. "I'm allergic to pumpkin."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Senpai!" Fuuka gasped, wide-eyed. "I should have asked if anyone had any allergies before…"

"_Oh…_ so you didn't spit it out because it tasted bad, Senpai?" Junpei couldn't help asking. He received a very strong punch from Akihiko in return.

"Senpai, are you okay?" asked Yukari as Mitsuru brought her bowl to the sink. The crimson-haired senior nodded. "Yes, I'm alright. I hadn't eaten any of it."

"Mmm… this is really good, Fuuka-san!" Ken remarked, beginning to dig into his stew.

"W-wait! None of you are allergic to anything that might be in there, right?" Fuuka was saying in an alarmed voice. "I put potatoes… pumpkin… onions… um, celery…"

"I don't have any allergies," said Akihiko. "That I know of, that is…"

"Me neither," Minato added, and Junpei, Yukari and Ken all shook their heads.

"What are you going to have instead, Senpai? I didn't cook anything else except this stew…" Fuuka turned to Mitsuru, who was already taking out some bread from the fridge. She shrugged, unperturbed. "It's alright, Yamagishi. I'll just make a sandwich for myself."

"So, Senpai, you've _never_ tasted one of these before?" Junpei poked a piece of pumpkin with his fork and showed it to her.

"No…" She shrugged again. "It probably tastes like potato anyway."

"It's _sweeter_ than potato… Has a richer flavour as well. Man, you're missing out, Senpai."

"… Iori, that doesn't make me feel any better, you know," Mitsuru muttered in annoyance. "Besides, it's just pumpkin. There are lots of other more delicious food out there and thankfully, I'm not allergic to any of them."

"Why don't you take just a teeny-weeny bite? Maybe you're not allergic to it anymore." He waved his fork before her with a grin on his face. However, she just gave him a chilly stare, making him turn away and quickly start chucking stew into his mouth. "If I ate that, Iori, you'd probably all be calling the ambulance within a millisecond of it going down my throat," she said flatly.

"… If you ate that, you'd probably also have to get a shot for it." The seemingly innocent statement from a neutral-faced Akihiko earned him a glare from Mitsuru. Her cheeks went a little hotter and she had to press her lips together tightly to stop herself from countering with a biting rejoinder. Around them, the younger SEES members noticed this exchange and glanced at one another in puzzlement. What the…?

Later that night, Akihiko went over to his desk and took out a piece of paper from one of the drawers. After more than nine months, he had finally completed it. Feeling very pleased with himself, he added the final point to his list:

_#10: She is allergic to pumpkin. _

* * *

**A/N: ... Yes, number 8 is based on a personal experience... **


	8. Vincent

**A/N: Thanks for the awesome feedback on the last two chapters. This is a final update before my first exam on Tuesday; wish me luck, I'm gonna need it, hehe. Much shorter than the previous chapter, but I wanted to include it as a direct companion to Chapter 3.**

**You know the drill; jump on me if you see any errors. **

**Title: **Vincent (by Don McLean)

**Summary: **Third time's the charm. (Uber spoilers for October fullmoon)

* * *

His gloved fist smashed against the tout surface and his other fist followed suit as he rained quick, merciless blows onto the punching bag, sweat pouring down his face and body, stinging his eyes everytime he blinked. He ignored any discomfort he felt. His heartbeat pounded in his ears and even as his stare fixed onto the swinging training equipment before him, the only image in his head was a puddle of red on the ground. He couldn't hear the _thud, thud, thud_ of his punches or his ragged pants—just someone's quiet, final breath; the sound of a heavy form crashing onto the ground…

Akihiko readied himself for one final, powerful strike on the punching bag, almost as if he was trying to expel all the energy he had in himself. He stopped and stood by, breathing hard, watching the swaying object before him—forwards, backwards, forwards, backwards…

He pulled off his gloves and flung them onto the floor, bending down to pick up the bottle of energy drink and taking a long swig. He reached for a nearby towel and was dapping his face when he suddenly caught sight of someone sitting on the bench just by the door. It was a part of the gym that was rather dim, but it didn't matter. The crossed arms and hint of red hair were the only things he needed to see to know who it was anyway.

He took another drink, slinging the towel by his shoulder and walking towards her. "How long have you been here?" His voice was raspy, as if his throat was parched dry even though he had just downed a few gulps of water.

"About five minutes," she answered in a tone similar to his. "You weren't in the hall, so I checked here."

He set himself down beside her, his skin flaming and pulse slowly decelerating, but still hearing the beating of drums in his head. He wiped away more sweat, taking in a deep breath.

"How are you doing?" There was a sort of stiff formality in her voice, but the moment his eyes met hers, he saw just how far from normal she really was. He smoothed back his damp hair and shrugged. "Been better," he replied truthfully.

"… It's alright to grieve, Akihiko. You and Shinjiro were very close—he was like a brother to you." She paused and then added very quietly, "As he was to me…"

He exhaled loudly, fists tightening. "I know that," he said in a low tone. "I know, Mitsuru. It hasn't even been a day, but I've grieved—I'm done with that now. It wasn't his time to die yet, but he faced it head on anyway." Akihiko turned to her, a small, unexpected smile on his lips. "I'm gonna be just like him. I'll face this and anything else fate throws at me head on—no grumbles, no looking back, no regrets. Just head on."

His words made her raise her eyebrows, but she nodded understandingly in the end, inwardly proud of his sudden maturity. "No more dwelling on the past, huh?" she whispered.

"Exactly." He flexed his fingers, rubbing a slightly bruised part of his knuckles before getting off the bench, walking aimlessly around her for a moment. "You know… we'd known each other since we were kids, and he was everything Miki and I could ask for in an older brother, but…" Akihiko paused, absent-mindedly coiling the towel around a hand, a frown on his face. "After that incident with Ken's mother, Shinji was... different from who he used to be. When we hung out for lunch, sometimes I felt as if he was turning into someone else. He'd talk about some pretty dark things; really intense stuff. He'd get me really worried at times."

"He wasn't the only one who had changed," she said quietly, brushing away a flock of red hair. "You and I did as well. After something like that, who wouldn't?"

Akihiko bit his lower lip at her words. She was right, of course. Who could be the same after watching someone get killed by your teammate's actions? Who wouldn't change after watching your _mother_ die in the hands of a stranger?

… _Ken._ The name brought along a sense of emptiness in him. "Is Ken alright?" he voiced his thoughts.

She shook her head. "Yamagishi said he isn't at the dorm. He might not have even been back after school," she answered. "We need to talk to the others tonight about him… With the way things are now, it's highly probable he'll want to leave."

"… I'm not too sure about that," Akihiko disagreed. "I haven't known him long, but he's a tough kid. He'll do the right thing, and this time, he won't be alone. I'll stand by him, the way Shinji wanted me to."

When he turned back to Mitsuru, she was staring at him so intently that he suddenly felt a little uneasy, as if he was completely defenceless against a Shadow. Her expression seemed like one of pride and quiet satisfaction. He raised his eyebrows and raked a hand through his hair. "What? Have I got something on my face?"

She closed her eyes and smiled. "It's nothing," she replied with a shrug.

"… You know something strange? Do you remember that night, after we walked Fuuka home just before she joined us? We talked for a while near the pier."

Her forehead furrowed slightly and she blinked for a moment before nodding slowly. "Yes, that's right…" she mumbled.

"You told me that I couldn't protect everyone; that sometimes, things wouldn't go the way I want them to. To be honest, what you said made me a little angry then. It was as if it didn't matter how strong I became, because everything might be useless in the end. I remember thinking how wrong you were back then. I thought if I trained hard enough, no matter what happened, I _would_ still be able to protect the people that matter to me." He heaved a heavy sigh and gave her a watery grin. "But I guess you were right after all. I had trained as hard as I could but still couldn't do anything for Shinji in the end."

"Akihiko, I..." she started in uncertainty, her face troubled. "I didn't mean to—"

"It's alright, Mitsuru," he cut in. "What you said made me realize now just how stupid and naïve I was. Back then, the only thing on my mind was training, training and nothing but _training_. I was so obsessed with getting stronger that I forgot about all the other important things in my life—important _people_, like Shinji, or you…" The last two words were said under his breath, but one look at her eyes told him that she had heard him anyway.

"Akihiko…" Mitsuru murmured in a strange tone.

"Sorry." He grinned good-naturedly. "Didn't mean for that to come out sappy."

She shook her head at once. "No, it's not that," she slowly said. "It's just… well…" Another smile touched her lips.

Her uncharacteristic ineloquence and almost coy behaviour made him raise his eyebrows quizzically. She was looking at him again with that same expression as before and once more, he couldn't read it.

"What is it?" he prompted, but she merely exhaled softly, amber eyes turning away. "Nevermind, it's not important," she said. From her mysterious smile that still lingered, he somehow sensed that she wasn't being entirely truthful. Nonetheless, he didn't pursue it.

"It's almost dinner time," Mitsuru remarked, glancing at her watch. "We should get back to the dorm. You weren't planning on staying here late, were you?"

"Actually, I was," he replied, pausing to take a gulp of his drink. "Thought I'd blow off some steam, but I feel much better now, after talking to you, so I'll leave in a bit."

Her gaze moved to his. "… I'm glad I could help," she said softly.

"I'll see you at the dorm. I'm gonna go take a shower first before heading back." Akihiko began to walk to where he had left his stuff just by the punching bag.

"I'm taking the train, too," Mitsuru said. "I'll wait for you and we can go back together."

He turned to her in surprise. She was walking over to a brighter spot in the gym, already taking out her Chemistry notebook from her bag (_Ever the hardworker,_ he mused) and flipping it open. "You didn't ride today?" he asked.

"… I… wasn't in the right state of mind for that," she answered laconically, not looking up.

He decided not to say anymore, dropping his drink onto the boxing gloves on the floor and rummaging through his bag for his towel and a change of clothes. As he kicked off his shoes and peeled away his socks, he couldn't help glancing over to her again. She was reading intently, frowning slightly in concentration, one leg elegantly over the other.

He watched her for a while, an unfamiliar emotion stirring within him. He may have been too late to reach Miki and Shinji, but with the both of them watching over him now, he had all the reasons to continue fighting. He didn't know what the future held for him or the others, but right then he wasn't too concerned about that, because regardless of what Lady Fate tossed into his path, he was going to stare it straight in the eyes and charge it down, not looking away.

The one thing Akihiko did know, though, was that there was still someone else he needed to protect. And this time, even if he might not be strong enough in the end, he was going to put up one _hell_ of a fight for her.

As they always say, third time's the charm_._

* * *

**A/N: The next chapter will be the second to last one for this entire collection. Be prepared to wait about... a few months for it, perhaps? :P And _what_ was it that Mitsuru wanted to say to Akihiko? Take a guess.  
**


	9. Far Away

**A/N: Strangely enough, this chapter was easier to write than expected. I really thought I'd be struggling with most of it but I managed to complete it in about 3 days. :D **

**Title: **Far Away (by Nickelback)

**Summary:** Had he been lying to himself this whole time?

* * *

"_There's nothing between us. We're just good friends."_

If he had a yen for everytime he said that to someone, Akihiko would have been stinking rich by now. There was a time he didn't know why people couldn't understand just how things were between him and Mitsuru. Just because they were friends—or _dorm mates_—didn't mean that they were a couple. Even when Shinji had been around, any speculation was always directed to the both of them, be it the florist ("Buy 2, free 1! Why don't you get some for your girlfriend?"), a random old lady by the takoyaki stall ("Is he your boyfriend? You two make a lovely couple!") or a mother scolding her child at the park ("Now don't you go bothering that nice man and his girlfriend!").

While they had initially embarrassed him, the comments, both in and out of school, began to be rather annoying. Mitsuru, on the other hand, would simply chuckle politely and brush off the idea. Shinji would raise an eyebrow and then mutter in a teasing tone, "You're getting soft, Aki."

"_For God's sake, we're __**just friends**__!" _Akihiko couldn't count the number of times he had wanted to scream that to people.

… Now, though, he suddenly wasn't so sure anymore.

o-o-o-o-o

It started the night he found out Ryoji had been hitting on Mitsuru. He was in his room, at his desk with his Calculus textbook, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to get himself to concentrate. He read sentence after sentence, equation after equation, but still found his mind drifting back to his red-headed friend. He hated seeing her so down and depressed; she had been looking like a walking zombie everytime he saw her, but that wasn't the only thing bothering him. There was a heavy, sinking feeling in his stomach—the kind he usually got when he lost at a game or missed a blow on a Shadow—and annoyance was biting at his guts as well. He kept thinking about what Yukari had brought up that evening.

Ryoji… asking Mitsuru out?

With an impatient sigh, Akihiko shut his book and got up, walking over to the nearby speed bag. He picked up a fast rhythm quickly but his constant motion and thumping on the bag did little to appease his restlessness. He couldn't understand what he was feeling. This irritation… was it jealousy? Was that it? Was he jealous of what Ryoji had done?

A tiny prickle of doubt began to form in a corner of his mind and for the first time over the course of their friendship, he began to wonder if his feelings for Mitsuru were completely platonic. He was sure they were—he cared a lot about her, but he had felt the same towards Shinji. Perhaps it was some sort of sibling-like camaraderie. He bit his lip, wishing there was a way he could at least find out how he truly felt about her.

A sudden idea struck him. There should be tests or something similar for stuff like that, right?

He abruptly stopped boxing and returned to his desk to take out his laptop. He connected to the internet and typed what he wanted on a search engine. Most of the results made him cringe, but he finally found one that seemed logical enough to warrant further attention:

_Think you have a crush on someone? Ask yourself this simple question! Have you ever fantasized about what it would be like to kiss them? _

Akihiko stared at the screen and as he read the words, images began to form in his head… images of him, holding Mitsuru in his arms… and kissing her…

His reaction was immediate. "Ugh…!" He shook his head and made a face, squeezing his eyes shut, feeling his cheeks burning and goosebumps on his skin. That had been a _very wrong_ thing to imagine. It wasn't that he found her unappealing at all, but he felt almost guilty thinking about her like that. He was reminded of their little incident at Shirakawa Boulevard. He hurriedly exited the browser and turned his laptop off, suddenly not in the mood for any more investigating. The uncomfortable feeling within him had worsened.

Maybe he wasn't jealous that Ryoji had hit on Mitsuru in particular. Maybe he was jealous of the fact that, unlike him, Ryoji was an incredibly smooth talker and found it really easy to ask a girl out. Akihiko's gaze was subconsciously drawn to the drawer where he kept that useless dating guide he had bought (It was something he was not proud of—he blamed Junpei). Sighing again, he closed his eyes and massaged his temples wearily. He decided to sleep on it; everything would probably be back to normal soon.

o-o-o-o-o

It was after the Kyoto trip and everything was _not_ back to normal. Everytime he saw her, the words _fantasize _and _kiss_ popped into his mind. He wanted to tear his hair out for ever thinking about using the goddamned internet for something like that. He couldn't look at her and not blush (and this had_ nothing_ to do with the hot-springs incident), and so he took to avoiding her instead, both in the dorm and at school. He reasoned that perhaps he just needed more time.

"Akihiko, is something wrong? You've been acting rather strangely lately," Mitsuru curiously asked him one Sunday. He was on his way to Hagakure and she had been sitting alone in the lounge, reading. There had been no way to sneak past her.

"Uh… really?" He feigned surprise. "Sorry, maybe I'm just tired from training. I've got that boxing match on Wednesday…"

Her raised eyebrow did not lower and she studied him momentarily. "Hmm… well, don't push yourself too hard. You'll be magnificent, as always," she said with a small smile, amber eyes returning to her book. He wanted to turn and quickly head to the door, but for some reason, his feet remained stuck to the floor. Despite his discomfort, he found himself saying, "How about you? Is everything okay with the company?"

She looked at him once more. "Yes," Mitsuru answered in a quiet tone. "Thank you for asking. I'm sorry if I was… indifferent the past few days, but I'm alright now."

His gaze softened and suddenly, he felt ashamed for worrying more about himself than how she had been doing after her father's death. He slung his jacket over his shoulder and nodded towards the door. "I'm going to the beef bowl place for lunch. You wanna come with?" he asked.

"Beef bowl… at the restaurant you and Shinjiro told me about countless times?"

He noticed how she bit her lip after realising she had brought up _his_ name, but it mattered not to him. Akihiko nodded and grinned warmly. "Yeah," he said. "It's the best in town. Come on, it'll be my treat. You always did say you've wanted to try that place out."

His words brought a chuckle to her lips. She marked the page in her book and shut it, getting up from the couch. "Alright then, just let me get my coat," she replied.

Mitsuru left for her room and as Akihiko waited by the door, a puzzling realisation slowly hit him and he replayed their previous conversation in his head. If he wanted to be technical, he had actually asked her out and she had accepted. Unlike that one time he had been trying to practise the art of courting with that wretched guide, there had been no need for jokes, no stuttering, no stammering and wondering what he was going to say. It had felt completely natural, and that confused him even more.

o-o-o-o-o

Everything became clear to him, however, one night when they were in Tartarus. The four of them—Minato, Junpei, Mitsuru and him—had been battling Shadows non-stop on one of the higher floors of the dungeon for the past half an hour. Junpei was already complaining about his fatigue, and though Akihiko felt that he could still go on, he _was_ a little tired himself. Mitsuru seemed no different, but she never said a word about it. Their blue-haired leader wanted to push on with their investigation but when he saw his team-mates' weary faces, he swiftly changed his mind. "Alright, we'll find the access point and head on back," Minato announced.

The Shadow's attack happened so quickly that none of them were prepared. True, Fuuka had sensed it a few seconds before, but nobody had quite expected it to suddenly turn around and lunge at them with such speed. Being the closest, Minato bore the brunt of its first attack and was thrown back to the wall, and despite their tiredness, the rest of the team immediately engaged it. It was a rare Shadow they had never seen before and although its physical attacks were quite weak, its magical capabilities and agility proved extremely challenging.

"You alright?" Akihiko called out to Minato, who nodded and got back onto his feet, readying his sword.

"An ice-based enemy. It's weak against fire!" Fuuka's voice echoed in their heads. "Junpei-kun!"

The junior was already taking out his Evoker, but even before he could pull the trigger, the Shadow cast another spell—Bufudyne—and this time, its target was Mitsuru.

In hindsight, Akihiko knew it had been a very, very stupid thing to do, especially since the Shadow's element was ice, but at that moment, he hadn't stopped to consider _anything._ The only thing he remembered was crying out something and then jumping to shove his red-headed comrade out of the way. An excruciating pain shot through his nerves as the freezing spell hit him in full blast—it _really_ didn't help that that had been Caesar's weakness. The boxer was thrown even more violently than Minato before, landing a few feet away from the Shadow with a painful crash. He had been hit by ice magic before, but the effects had never been this bad. His head was spinning wildly, his vision was filled with dark spots and his entire body hurt all over. He barely made out the others yelling his name and even as he tried to look up, the last thing he saw before everything went black was Junpei unleashing his strongest fire attack on the Shadow…

o-o-o-o-o

… When he opened his eyes again, the first thing Akihiko saw was the familiar cream colour of the ceiling in his room. The ringing in his ears had stopped and he could hear someone speaking quietly, "—get some sleep, Yukari. I'll see to it that he's fine."

_Mitsuru._ At that thought, he sat up at once, his joints and muscle aching slightly. He saw both Yukari and Mitsuru standing by the open door. The former caught sight of him and smiled in relief. "Oh, you're up, Senpai," she said. "Are you feeling better? I only used Diarahan once but I hope that was enough…"

He rubbed the back of his head where it still hurt and grunted, "I'm okay, thanks." His grey eyes moved to Mitsuru, but she remained silent and just held his gaze.

"Minato told me what happened, Senpai. That was a really sweet thing you did," Yukari remarked, unable to resist the slight teasing tone in her voice, but when his expression turned vacant and he simply stared back at her mutely, her smile faltered a little. "Uh… a-anyway, I'm glad you're feeling better. Good night," the junior hurriedly said and left.

There was a silence as Akihiko took a deep breath and fell back onto his bed, a hand on his forehead. He heard Mitsuru shut the door and approach him with a soft sigh. He didn't turn.

"… Akihiko, what happened back there?" Her voice was confused, puzzled—emotions he was all too familiar with just then.

He swallowed hard. "I don't know," he said truthfully.

"I'm… very touched about what you did. Thank you, but I don't understand what made you do it," Mitsuru said, her tone troubled. "You must have known that I wouldn't have even felt that Shadow's attack. You have been reckless, yes, but never this way before… Why? Enlighten me, please."

She was looking at him but he never looked back, fixing his stare on the ceiling instead. "I don't know," he mumbled again.

"Something is bothering you," she said under her breath. "You've been trying to hide it but I can tell. You haven't been your usual self these days. You're always telling me not to keep my troubles to myself, but now you're doing the same, Akihiko."

He did not respond. Mitsuru frowned, deeply mystified by his behaviour both now and before. When he continued to keep silent, she sighed again in defeat and turned to walk to the door, leaving him alone in his room without another word.

Akihiko remained on his bed for a while before he got up and started to pace around aimlessly, absent-mindedly chewing on his bottom lip. What had happened to him? Jumping in front of her to stop an attack he knew would never have hurt her anyway? And worse, he got himself pretty banged up as well. He raked his hands in his platinum hair, distressed and uneasy. He_ had_ to figure it out this time.

"_I don't know."_ That was what he said to her just a few seconds ago and it had been true, but as he took some time to reflect on the incident and his actions, a startling realisation slowly began to dawn on him. As if a switch had been flicked on in his mind, he suddenly knew why the fact that Ryoji had hit on Mitsuru _really_ pissed him off; why lately, he had begun to look forward to their study sessions together and why his eyes were almost always on her during their battles with Shadows, watching out for any possible danger that could befall her even though he was well aware that she could fend for herself. He finally understood why asking her to come along for lunch had been so simple and easy, and while he was usually timid and anxious around girls he was attracted to, he was never nervous with her. He realised now why he had done what he did for her that night. It was because although she would have remained unhurt by the spell, he couldn't bear the thought of her getting attacked in any way.

There was only one reason for someone to want to sacrifice themselves to protect another without even considering the consequences; only one reason he wanted to bash the living daylights out of anyone who could have a chance with her—anyone who could take her _away_ from him.

Suddenly finding his legs wobbling weakly, Akihiko set himself down on the nearby couch, his breath caught in his dry throat. _Only one reason…_

He was in love with her.

o-o-o-o-o

He trained harder than ever after he had finally sorted out his feelings towards Mitsuru. By sheer will, he forced himself to act as normal as he could whenever he was with her and the others, not wanting _anyone_ to suspect his true emotions. If Shinji had been around, he would have caught him out already, but although he sometimes found Mitsuru looking at him with a strange expression on her face, she never said a word to him and he was glad about that. He didn't know how well he could have kept his usual act if she had pulled him aside to confront him or something.

The night he had realised his true feelings had also been the night he decided never to let her know about them. If he wanted to be honest with himself, he was actually afraid that she would not reciprocate. He knew she cared for him a lot, but chances were she was not attracted to him at all. They had been through a lot together and she would have done anything for him, as he would for her, but he was sure she only saw him as a brother-figure and not someone who could be more than a friend. A larger part of him was more anxious about the fact that their relationship would certainly suffer if she ever came to know about how his feelings and that was something he didn't want. Things could be awkward between the both of them now but he would much rather have them unchanged than risk ruining their friendship.

And so they continued to go to school together, fight Shadows side-by-side, help each other study for the exams. He did not keep his distance (he knew that would have sparked her suspicion at once) but he found himself watching her intently at times, noticing little things about her he had never noticed before, like the way she bit on her lower lip thoughtfully as she was solving an unusually difficult math problem, or the way she sighed almost sensually in contentment whenever she took her first sip of her daily tea. He grew to be very fond of these trivial details.

One afternoon, while they were having another study session in the school library, he found her staring off somewhere, idly twiddling her pen. She had on a distant expression and when he turned to see what she was looking at, the only people he saw was a group of other students by the window. He recognised one of them as a sophomore member of the boxing team. The boy had his arm around another girl while his other friends discussed their work quietly.

"… Something wrong?" When he broke the silence, Mitsuru turned back to him, alert and slightly startled.

"Huh?"

"It's not like you to space off." He offered her a small smile and she returned it rather sheepishly. "My apologies," she said. "My mind just wandered…"

He suddenly remembered something. "Oh yeah," Akihiko started. "How did the meeting with the company directors go? It was a couple of days ago, wasn't it?"

An odd look clouded over her mahogany eyes and she looked back to the notebook in her hands. Naturally, that made him curious and he raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Mitsuru?"

"It went alright. They just wanted to sort something out… I'll be meeting them again next week."

No, he knew her too well to fall for that. "Did something happen? You know you can talk to me," he said earnestly. Her gaze lifted at his words.

"… I'll tell you…" she slowly began in a sort of challenging tone. "… if you tell me first what it is that's been bothering you."

Akihiko inwardly sighed. He had thought that after a few weeks, she would have forgotten about it but it looked as if she wasn't going to let it go. There was no way he was going to tell her, so he just shifted his attention to his textbook and said nothing. He knew she was still watching him but he glued his eyes to the page and forced his mind to read the words before him.

o-o-o-o-o

The only time he ever reconsidered his decision not to confess was right after Ryoji had informed them all about their supposedly inevitable deaths, but even after knowing he might have only one more month to live, he chose not to do anything. He had already spent months loving her from afar—what difference would thirty days have made? No, he'd be better off keeping things the way they were. He did notice she had been looking a little tired and worn out lately—she must either be worrying about the upcoming battle with Nyx or something to do with the Kirijo Group. Regardless, it hurt for him not to be able to comfort her, but after that conversation in the library, he didn't want to bring anything about her wellbeing up anymore.

On the last day of January, after school, Akihiko dropped by the cemetery, heading for Shinji's grave. He didn't bring anything; he could almost imagine the look on Shinji's face if he had brought flowers and the image made him chuckle. As he stood by silently, staring at the plain, engraved headstone on the ground, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of melancholy. He wondered how different things would have been if Shinji was still alive; how he'd react if he knew about his feelings for their long-time friend. He thought about death—his own and hers; he, dying, without ever telling her how much he wanted to be with her and she, taking her last breath, without ever knowing how he really felt about her. Both thoughts were gut-wrenching, but he had made up his mind. If this was something to be carried to his own grave and never known, then so be it.

"… Looks like I really have gone soft, huh?" Akihiko whispered into the wind and smiled thinly. "Don't worry. I'll be fighting for you… and her… I'll fight for the three of us, and I won't let her go that easily this time…"

o-o-o-o-o

After the meeting with the rest of the team that night, he retired to his room early to do some last minute working out. He trained for about three-quarters of an hour before a knock on his door made him stop. "Yeah?" he called out inquiringly, fists still readied in a battle stance.

"It's me." His already racing pulse accelerated even more when he heard her voice. He bit his lip and walked over to the door, opening it slowly. What he saw surprised him. Mitsuru was standing outside, all wrapped up in a warm coat and thick scarf, but it wasn't her outfit that caught him off guard—it was the expression on her face. She looked unusually flustered and her cheeks were flushed a rosy red. She was probably cold, he thought.

"Hey," Akihiko said.

"Are you training?" she asked rather hesitantly.

"Uh, yeah. Just thought I'd do some warming up before tonight. Is something up?"

She turned away briefly, her hands digging into her coat pockets, before she sighed softly and looked back at him. It was surprisingly difficult to read the emotions in the expressive, amber eyes he had come to love.

"I'm sorry," Mitsuru murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "But there's something I need to talk to you about. Can we… go out for a walk?"

o-o-o-o-o

_**You know, that I love you**_

_**I have loved you all along**_

_**- Nickelback: Far Away -**_

* * *

**A/N: Hmmm, now isn't that interesting? XD Final chapter: Mitsuru's side of the story. Stay tuned.  
**


	10. Stay Gold

**A/N: No, I'm not dead yet. This chapter proved to be a real challenge. Considering the nature of the chapter, writing in Mitsuru's shoes was very difficult for me, but I'm very pleased with the length of it as I had hoped to end this entire collection with a bang. :D**

**As always, I'm not a perfect proof-reader...**

**Title: **Stay Gold (by Utada Hikaru)

**Summary:** Was I prepared to risk losing everything our family had built just because I couldn't let go of a single person? Was I honestly that selfish?

* * *

Akihiko Sanada. The name stirred all sorts of emotions within me. One of the first things I had noticed and liked about him was his confidence. He was a champion in and out of the ring and he knew it. Naturally, with confidence usually came cockiness, but in his case I had been pleasantly surprised to find that unlike many other arrogant people, he could be unexpectedly humble and respectful at times. Looking back, perhaps it was his friendship with Shinjiro that had kept his amiable character in check.

I couldn't understand why he had been the first person to come to mind when the news of my engagement began to sink in. It wasn't because I saw him in my fiancé's shoes instead—most certainly not—but the idea of getting married was not as disconcerting as the very thought of telling him. _Why does it even matter?_ I had questioned myself time and again but the only thing that brought about was just more confusion for myself.

Akihiko was… Akihiko wasn't just a friend. He was more than that, almost like family, like a brother… no, that wasn't it. It was hard finding the right word to describe him but one thing I was certain of was the fact that I did not have romantic feelings for him. He was the person I could talk to most of the time and I cared for him greatly, but I was sure that was the extent of our relationship, despite speculations and remarks from some people around us. He was good looking, yes, but I did not feel jealous whenever I saw the troupe of giggling girls trailing after him in adoration and the fact that he constantly received countless love letters that were stuffed into his locker only amused me. There was a bond between us—an extremely close one at that—but no sexual attraction whatsoever.

So if our relationship was completely platonic, why was I lying there in my bed, face buried into my pillow and head going around in circles, unable to bring myself to tell him face-to-face about my engagement? Keeping that away from him was tempting but I knew I wouldn't be able to do that. I had always talked freely with him in the past and he knew things other people didn't know about me—my grandfather, the proposals I loathed, the way I hated having to shoulder so much responsibility, my fear of needles (!)...

"You are a Kirijo," my father had said once. "There are times when you must still make decisions regardless of your emotions."

I knew I was strong enough to do that. Even now, a part of me had somehow accepted my marriage to Kogi, knowing full well how advantageous it would be to the Group, but in the other corner of my mind, something was prodding my consciousness; agitated, nagging, a single name, four syllables, an echo reverberating.

Akihiko. Akihiko. _Akihiko._

Why did I feel like marrying Kogi meant letting go of my closest friend somehow? And this time, no matter how strong I thought I was, that was something I just couldn't do. It almost felt as if I was betraying him in some way, but why? Why did I feel like this if I didn't have feelings for him? I was certain I didn't… Akihiko just wasn't someone I could see myself with. It was difficult even trying to imagine him being somebody's _boyfriend,_ let alone my own. Taking our relationship to that whole new level would be incredibly awkward, but try as I might, it was hard not to listen to that voice in my head that pointed out how ideal he would be for the role. He excelled both academically and physically, he knew me very well—almost as well as my father had—and he was my longest known friend.

I did notice he had been acting rather strange lately, though. His gestures were too quick, almost as if he was defensive or anxious, and at times, I practically sensed the wariness radiating off him. I couldn't figure it out. It couldn't be because of my 'execution' in Kyoto (let bygones be bygones…), could it? I was especially puzzled as to the reason behind his extremely foolish behaviour that one night in Tartarus. It wasn't that I was ungrateful for what he had done but I was livid and very annoyed at his recklessness. Of all the attacks to intercept, it _had_ to be an ice spell—something that would have just felt like a ticklish prickle to me. It was a terrible feeling watching him flung onto the ground with that sickening crash. The image remained in my mind the entire hour he was out cold; perhaps that was what triggered the anger bubbling restlessly within me, the sharp words I had said to him.

I hated him for making me worry. He couldn't even come up with an excuse for his actions and just clammed up. I had thought that he had grown since we lost Shinjiro, but perhaps I was mistaken…

o-o-o-o-o

I did not get much sleep that night but by morning, I was surprisingly wide awake. I left for school half an hour before the other dorm residents even arose, busying myself with a physics assignment in the student council room. As strange as it sounded, school and college work actually took my mind off a lot of things I'd rather not think about. People often found my ability to shift my focus to an entirely different matter in mere seconds quite amazing. I myself was just thankful for such a talent.

I spent the first half of the afternoon after school settling some business regarding the council budget. On my way to the faculty office to see our advisor, Mr. Ohkawa, I bumped into Arisato. His bag was slung over a shoulder and he said that he was just heading back to the dorm.

"Would you like to join me?" he casually asked. "I'm thinking of stopping for some takoyaki on the way."

I was about to decline—"No, I took the motorcycle today."—but an unexpected thought suddenly struck me. Arisato seemed like someone who would be perfect to go out with. He was quiet but charming, got very good grades and wasn't exactly unattractive. An image of us strolling along hand-in-hand flashed in my mind and I wondered if things would be as awkward as if it was with Akihiko. Before I knew it, I was already answering, "Yes, I think I will. Can you give me fifteen minutes, please? I have to see Mr. Ohkawa about something first."

"Sure," Arisato said, slipping his bag to his side and leaning against the shoe lockers. I turned without another word, walking towards the staffroom. The warning bells in my head rang deafeningly even as I knocked on the door.

What had I done? That was the rashest and fastest decision I had ever made, and I hoped I would not come to regret it.

o-o-o-o-o

Takoyaki, as I later found out, were little balls of diced octopus that tasted absolutely divine. I was amazed at its low price. Perhaps this was something worth investing in by the Kirijo Group…

"You've never tried it even though you come by here a lot?" Arisato sounded incredulous.

"I've only ever passed through with Akihiko. We never stopped for anything," I said. Mentioning my silver-headed friend felt strange at a time like that… I wondered if this was what other people would call a 'date'? Was it wrong thinking about Akihiko when I was supposed to be enjoying Arisato's company?

A silence loomed over us as we continued munching on our takoyaki. My companion, as expected, did not make conversation. I did not like talkative men, but I soon found out that it was actually quite uncomfortable being with someone who was _too_ quiet as well.

"Arisato…" I hesitated slightly before asking him, "Have you noticed Akihiko behaving oddly lately? Like he has something on his mind?"

The junior frowned and cocked his head to his side, chewing slowly. Then he shook his head. "… Did the two of you get into an argument or something?"

His words caught me off guard. "No," I replied, unable to help the cautious tone. "Why would you think so?"

He shrugged. "Just a hunch," he said, glancing at me. His face was as expressionless as ever. "… It's not about what he did the other night, is it? I know you think he was just being reckless, but to be honest, I think he just didn't want you to get hurt."

I started at him, blinking hard. Arisato often surprised me with his unusual perceptiveness. "But I _wouldn't_ have got hurt," I pointed out rather stiffly. He just shrugged again and said no more. His behaviour puzzled me.

"He was different after we lost Shinjiro-senpai," remarked Arisato. "The two of them seemed really close."

"Indeed, they were childhood friends," I concurred, staring at the ground before me, my attention resting on a single flower bobbing gently in the breeze. "… Akihiko _has_ changed," I said softly, a hint of pride in my voice. "He used to just jump ahead without thinking, or set his mind on just one thing and ignore everything else around him, but he's grown so much since Shinjiro's death. He's learning from his experiences and I'm… well, very impressed by his maturity. I've known him for a long time and it's wonderful to see him like this. I can't help but feel proud and happy for him." I paused, idly scrapping the bottom of the carton in my hand with my toothpick. "It's funny…" I murmured. "But when I look at him, sometimes I start to wonder if I've grown as much as he has. Things have been difficult without my father and to be honest, I've had some very dark thoughts, but thinking about Akihiko gives me strength, somehow."

It was unusual for me to speak so honestly to someone I wasn't really close to and Arisato must have realised it. The smile on his lips was mysterious and almost shrewd. I raised my eyebrows at him curiously.

"It sounds to me, senpai," he began in a nonchalant tone. "That perhaps… there's something there?"

I blinked at him. What did he mean, something there? Something where? The look on my face must have been one of utter bewilderment because he gave an unexpected chuckle and turned away. He got up, tossed his empty carton into a nearby rubbish bin and slipped his hands back into his pockets, still grinning knowingly. "I meant…" he said quietly. "… Maybe you're in love?"

I had always been very good at hiding my true feelings, even from the people closest to me, so it was effortless keeping my face a mask as his frank words unleashed a whirlwind of emotions inside me. My hands did not shake, my gaze did not wander from his. When I responded, my mouth and throat were as dry as a barren desert, but my voice did not waver one bit, "I don't think so. Akihiko's a friend—a teammate. There… There isn't a right word to describe him... We're close, but not in that way..."

I was up most of the night again that day, staring at the bleach-white ceiling with a million thoughts bouncing around in my head. I couldn't stray away from Arisato's words. Was I in love? I was so certain I wasn't, but hearing the question from someone else's lips sent my confidence crashing down.

Did I love Akihiko? Was that why I wasn't sure about the place he held in my heart—why I still couldn't bring myself to tell him about my engagement?

o-o-o-o-o

_How does one know if one is in love anyway?_ It was a question I had asked myself countless times ever since I was a child. If thinking about someone made you smile unconsciously, were you in love, or just _thinking_ you were? I looked at the couple two tables away, leaning close to one another, whispering and beaming happily. They clearly liked spending time with one another, but did that mean they were in love? What if they got tired of each other? I of all people knew that life was far from perfect little fairy tales. People didn't meet their soulmates, fall in love, live to the end of their days together without a care in the world. A cynical view, perhaps, but a life free of anguish was a miracle, not life, and as everyone knew, there were no such things as miracles.

"Something wrong?" Akihiko's voice penetrated my cloud of thoughts and I gave a small, involuntary start.

"Huh?" I turned to him, eyebrows raised, suddenly remembering that we were both in the school library, studying. He grinned and said, "It's not like you to space off."

My own smile felt feeble and watery. "My apologies… My mind just wandered…"

"… Oh yeah, how did the meeting with the company directors go? It was a couple of days ago, wasn't it?"

It was a query I dreaded hearing from him. I didn't want to think about the Kirijo Group, or Kogi, or how everyone kept insisting I was too inexperienced, so I just stared at the chemistry book on the table and forced myself to read the first sentence that came into sight…

_Thiols, more commonly known as mercaptans, are any compounds with a functional group containing a sulphur atom bonded to a hydrogen atom (—SH). Common in—_

"… Mitsuru?" His voice was full of concern.

"It went alright." I could lie very well sometimes. "They just wanted to sort something out. I'll be meeting them again next week."

He kept quiet for a while after that and I thought that was the end of the conversation, but as if he had a sixth sense, he pressed on, "Did something happen?"

I didn't know how he knew me so well. I had absolutely _no idea_.

"You know you can talk to me," he urged and when he said it, something just snapped in me. This was a chance for a bargain and I was going to take it. I looked at him, my eyes narrowing slightly and I murmured, "I'll tell you… if you tell me first what it is that's been bothering you."

His reaction was immediate. He turned back to his textbook and started to read, or pretended to read. I watched him carefully, but he showed no sign of responding to my words. Truthfully, I had sort of expected that. He could be stubborn when he wanted to be.

As I stared at his face, I suddenly noticed the light stubble running along his jaw and chin, prickles of dark grey against his pale skin, and for the briefest moment, I wondered what it would be like to touch it.

o-o-o-o-o

The day before Ryoji Mochizuki ultimately revealed our unavoidable fates, I decided to bite the bullet, confront Akihiko about his behaviour and tell him about Kogi. I was tired of tossing and turning in bed, questioning my feelings for him and puzzling over his actions. I had to be direct, straightforward, if I wanted answers from him. Keeping him oblivious about something important like my arranged marriage was unsettling; I was torn between the guilt of not telling him and the guilt of actually going ahead with the directors' decision.

An hour before the school gates were closed, I went to the gym where the boxing club met. Clubs ended 30 minutes ago but I knew Akihiko always stayed behind for some extra training. I didn't know if he would be alone—sometimes Najima, the vice-captain, joined him—but when I carefully peered through the glass doors, there was only a lone figure standing by the punching bag. I scanned the corners of the gym but there was no one else. When my hand reached out for the steel handle, it was surprisingly calm. There was no turning back. I had always been taught to stride forward with determination, but even then, I couldn't help but wonder how Akihiko would react to my news. Would he just stand there stoically and agree with the Group's decision, or would he smile and congratulate me? Would he frown, get angry, try to stop me?

I approached him silently, my boots making no sound on the carpet, still thinking about what he would say, when suddenly everything in my mind just froze. I was still a distance away but I saw him clearly under the bright, white lights—standing tall, resting his weight on his left foot. His cellphone was in his hand and he was busy texting, panting lightly, face turned away from me, but I merely stared at his chest, rising and falling, sweat glistening on his bare skin. I stared at his drenched arms and the strong dip in his back—lean, powerful muscles rippling with hidden strength. I stared at the taut area just above his bellybutton, hard and moist.

I couldn't look away. I had seen him without his shirt before but this time, I just couldn't look away.

When he snapped his phone shut and took up the boxing gloves by his feet, I turned and left the gym as quietly as I had arrived, thankful for the dimness at the gym entrance. My cheeks burned hotly, my heartbeat thundered wildly in my eardrums and my steps came out a little wobbly as I headed to front gate. I passed some students and teachers and mumbled greetings, but all I could think about was Akihiko half-naked and my uncharacteristic reaction, my light-headedness. Completely forgetting I had ridden to school in the morning, I walked to the nearby train station, boarded the five o'clock train and sat there staring out of the glass windows, watching the buildings and people flying past outside.

I saw it then, as plain as day. How incredibly foolish had I been to think that nothing had changed between us, that we could still go back to how we used to be? After dragging myself through days of puzzling over my exact feelings for him, to finally understand what he meant to me felt almost enlightening; like all of a sudden, everything was either black or white with no hints of grey.

Of course… _yes, of course. _How could I have been so ignorant, so blind? Did I need to see him bare-chested to realise the real reason behind my difficulty in approaching him? I still did not know if I loved him, but Akihiko was now definitely not 'just a friend', as I had told everyone else all the time. The image from the gym had sent my pulse and mind racing, emotions I never knew I had ricocheting madly off the walls of my heart. It had felt like excitement, but a far different kind from what I had experienced before.

Was that love…? I supposed I did have a certain degree of affection for him, but exactly how deep, I did not know. I was surprised and confused by how quickly I had overstepped the boundary between being friends and something more. We had had a lot of intimate moments in the past—that incident at the love hotel, the short but meaningful conversations we had about Shinjiro, my family, my life—but none of them, although dangerously veering off the edge into new territory, had ever lead anywhere. Never triggered new emotions. Was it possible to suddenly see someone in a different way—just like that, in a split second?

That fifteen minutes on the crowded train was, in itself, a turning-point in my life, just like the night I had lost my father. Even when Mochizuki told us all about Nyx and the Fall, Akihiko still constantly plagued my thoughts. All of a sudden he wasn't just a close comrade or a protective brother anymore. I watched him fight in Tartarus and saw someone strong, unbreakable, manly... someone I could feel _safe_ with.

Lately, I could see that he was still not himself. We saw each other every day but with the exception of our occasional study sessions, we hardly ever talked. Whenever we were together, I'd catch him staring at me from the corner of my eyes, making me wonder if he noticed anything different about my behaviour as well, but ever since that one time in the library, he did not bring up anything more about the company. Sometimes, I wondered if there was a chance of Akihiko actually thinking about me the same way I thought about him. He had never seemed interested at all, though. Training was always his priority. There were times it seemed almost like we shared the same soul—he'd know if I was depressed or pleased, likewise I could usually sense his raw emotions—but after four years of friendship, nothing had ever come about from it.

As January went by, I felt the both of us slipping further and further away from each other. He was mostly at the gym while I was swamped with both college and school work as well as the fortnightly meetings with the Group's board of directors. Bound by a sense of duty, I also took time to meet my fiancé a few times. Atsushi Kogi was the new president of DVU Electronics, a close associate of the Kirijo Corporation. I had been previously acquainted with him from the many dinner parties our company held. He was about a decade and a half older than me and was a rather strange man. Sometimes he was incredibly charming and civil, other times he appeared bossy, impatient and demanding. Needless to say, I did not enjoy spending time with him. My parents' marriage had been arranged to benefit both parties and thus, throughout my teenage years, I had accepted the fact that someday, the same would be done for me. Although I did not like Kogi, I had resigned myself to my fate and sought to see it through when the decision about our engagement was made months ago.

But everything didn't seem as simple as that now. Kogi was a very brilliant businessman but more often than not, an image of a platinum-headed person stole into my mind and I'd picture someone else sitting across the dinner table instead. I had thought that I could go through with it, but now I saw that I could never grow to love Kogi the way my parents had each other.

Would I be making the wrong decision if I decided to back out from the engagement? I still had time—Kogi was only planning to announce it next month, but was I prepared to throw the Group's future into jeopardy because of my feelings? Was I prepared to risk losing everything our family had built just because I couldn't let go of a single person? Was I honestly that _selfish_?

… No, I wasn't.

_I am a Kirijo._ I had silently uttered the words so often that they were already like a mantra to me. Yes, I was a Kirijo; I had strength and I fully understood that the things we sometimes had to do were not necessarily what we wanted ourselves. Fate was simply not that kind, life was not that simple. Acting on my emotions was a luxury I could afford but ultimately could not buy.

_I am a Kirijo… and that's why I will see this through to the end. _

o-o-o-o-o

I did not know why I chose the night that might be the last night of our lives to finally tell him. If we were to fail and the Fall did come about, everything would vanish in a blink of an eye anyway. There would be no wedding, no more pretences, no more heart-aches_._ On the other hand, if we succeeded, chances were we would forget everything that had happened. I had mixed feelings about the thought of having my relationship with Akihiko returned to normal. Certainly, it would make things less complicated, but it also evoked a distressing sense of emptiness within me.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror before me. I was quite warm with my coat and scarf but my cheeks were flushed as if I had just been out in the cold. If this was to be the last few hours of my life, I couldn't bring myself to keep anything more away from him. He did not need to know about my feelings but I _had _to tell him about Kogi, even if there was a possibility of our memories disappearing.

I reached for my gloves, left my room and calmly walked to the stairs. Aigis and Koromaru were at the table in the tiny lounge nearby. The android looked up when she heard me. "Are you going out, Mitsuru-san?" she asked in surprise.

"Yes, just for a short walk," I responded. There was no need for her to know that I was not going alone. She nodded and Koromaru gave a short bark. I went down to the floor below and headed to the last door on the left along the hallway. I heard music as I passed Iori's room but nothing from Amada and Arisato's. When I stopped outside Akihiko's door, the muffled _thump-thump-thump_ was a relief. Good, he was in. I raised my hand and rapped smartly on the wooden surface. My confident knock belied my inner emotions; in reality I was restless. Like anxiety and nervousness, it was a feeling that was unusual for me and I did not like it.

The punching stopped. "… Yeah?" His voice was breathless.

I swallowed hard. "It's me," I said. There was a pause before the door slowly opened. His expression was one of curiosity, beads of sweat on his face. He wore one of his boxing gloves and the other was squashed under his armpit. "Hey," he greeted with a small smile.

I licked my lips to buy time, staring right into his grey eyes. "Are you training?" A foolish question but the words were on the tip of my tongue.

"Uh, yeah…" He ran a hand through his silver hair, scratching the back of his neck. "Just thought I'd do some warming up before tonight. Is something up?"

Suddenly I couldn't quite keep my gaze on his any longer. I pushed my hands deeper into the pockets of my coat, gripping my gloves tightly and averted my eyes. My heartbeat pounded in my ears and I knew my face was probably already as red as a beetroot. I had to act natural or he'd know something was up. I steeled myself—_I have to do this. I can't run away from him now, not when I'm this close._

There was a hint of confusion in his eyes when I turned back to him. "I'm sorry," I whispered. I had no idea why I felt the need to apologise. "But there's something I need to talk to you about. Can we…" Another painful swallow. "… go out for a walk?"

At first, his eyebrows rose and then arched down in a slight frown as his expression turned grave, perhaps realising I must have something serious to discuss. He stepped back and took off his other glove, tossing them onto his bed. "Of course," he answered. "Let me just get my stuff."

I turned away again, staring down the hallway and fervently hoping none of our younger dorm-mates would intercept us. Akihiko came out with his jacket, pulling on his red scarf around his neck. He checked his cellphone and then put on the leather gloves he always liked. When we reached the ground floor living room, only Yamagishi was there, busying herself with her laptop as always.

"We're going out for a bit," Akihiko said shortly, reaching for the door handle. The green-haired junior studied us for a moment before nodding. "Have fun," she called out, her eyes catching mine. I stared back at her sharply. It almost sounded as if she knew something but the smile she gave me was just one of her usual polite ones. She was already looking back at her computer when Akihiko opened the door. I inwardly chided myself for being so mistrustful.

A stinging, cold breeze swept past my face as we stepped out. I pulled on my woollen gloves with a shiver, glancing up at the sky. It wasn't snowing but there were large, patchy clumps of white along the street paths. My companion zipped up his jacket, tucked in his scarf and turned to me enquiringly. "Where to?" he cordially asked.

_Where to, indeed?_ I had been so focused on talking to him that I had not thought about where to go at all. I voiced the first thought that came to mind, "How about Naganaki Shrine?"

"Cool," he replied and that was the last of our conversation as we made our way to the shrine in an unexpected silence. In my head, I went over the steps I had spent the whole evening working out—sit down, tell him about the Group's situation, the outcome of the meetings and my decision. No beating around the bush and no divulging anything else. Simple.

It started snowing lightly just as we reached our destination. We went up the stairs and for some reason, momentarily stared at the building in front of us before heading towards the playground. Akihiko lazily kicked out at a lump of snow by his feet. I wanted to smile at his sudden boyish playfulness.

"Hard to imagine that all this might be gone tomorrow, huh?" he said, turning to gaze at the shimmering sky, snowflakes landing and camouflaging in his hair. I didn't know what to say to such a sombre question so I merely kept silent. I flicked away some snow on a nearby bench and sat down, tugging my coat closer around myself even though I was actually quite comfortable. Akihiko stood by the swings for a second and then took his place beside me.

"… Is something wrong, Mitsuru? Are you worried about tonight?" he asked, leaning forward towards his knees. I shook my head. "No," I answered truthfully and flashed him a thin smile. "Do I seem nervous to you?"

His forehead furrowed deeply and he shrugged. "Not really… You just… well, uh… anyway, so what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" He smoothly changed the subject.

This was it. With a mind of their own, my hands found their way to my lap and tightened around the ends of my coat slowly. I took a deep breath, once again running through the golden steps in my mind. _No turning back now._ "… First, I would like to apologise for my behaviour lately." I was very relieved my voice came out calm and collected. "The past few months have been very hectic and trying. The situation with the Kirijo Group is… worrisome without my father. Our stockholders and the board of directors are in turmoil over the leadership of the Group." He was watching me very intently. I was not one to get cold feet but all of a sudden, the words were harder to get out. I bit my lip but forced myself to continue, "It is only natural that the responsibility of leading the company falls on my shoulders, but although the board agrees that I am the rightful heir, they say that I lack the experience and knowledge to lead. They feel that is it necessary to have someone with more familiarity with the business world… someone more capable… and they have decided on the president of one of our close affiliates. They're considering a merge between the two companies to show that the foundation of the Kirijo Group is solidifying." I looked at him, wanting to gauge his reaction, but he simply stared back, his face expressionless and blank.

Could he not have realised what I was trying to say? Was I still not clear enough?

"Akihiko…" I said softly. "I'm engaged."

His grey eyes continued to burn right through me and for the first time in our relationship, I couldn't decipher the emotions they held. I didn't know how to react to him—had he even been listening? He just sat there looking at me, as still as a rock.

Then he abruptly turned and got up from the bench. When he began to take a few steps away, I thought the worst, that he was going to head back without a word, but instead he went over to the large structure made up of iron bars, gloved hands reaching out to absent-mindedly grasp the thick, freezing rods. He kicked out at another lump of snow. I yearned for him to say something but he remained silent for a minute or two before finally speaking, "You've known all this while? Why didn't you say something?" His tone was not one of anger but of dejection and hurt. _"Why do you still not trust me?"_ was what he meant to ask.

"… I'm sorry." I didn't know what else to say.

Another heavy silence.

"Who is he?" Akihiko's voice was very low. "That… Kagaya guy or whatever his name was?"

"No. His name is Atsushi Kogi… He's much older than I am, one of the best in his line." I sounded as if I was trying to justify my actions but ended up failing miserably instead.

"You can't honestly be okay with this," he insisted in disbelief. "You've always hated having other people dictate the way you live. If you go ahead with this, you'll spend your whole life being controlled by someone else when you can actually get away for good."

What was he trying to say? He caught my frown and sighed deeply, smoothing back his hair, snow and all. "This is your chance to break away, Mitsuru," he murmured. "At least, that's what I think."

I was taken aback by what he said. Break away—did he mean…? "Are you saying I should run from my responsibilities?" I couldn't help the hard tone in my voice.

"No, of course not. I meant… you don't need someone else running the company. You're the rightful leader of the Group—you said so yourself—so the board shouldn't be telling you what to do, or… or who to marry…"

"But what they've said is true—I am inexperienced. I can't deny that."

"… What do you think your father would say?" At his almost inaudible words, I froze. Yes, what _would_ my father have thought about the whole arrangement? I knew he would have wanted me to be happy and I most certainly could not be so with Kogi, but I had been brought up to understand that sometimes life was never what we wanted it to be. My parents had chosen the same path and thus, I would not run from mine.

"It's for the good of the Group," I answered, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. "I cannot simply act on my emotions and whims without considering the future of the company. You of all people should understand that, Akihiko; you've known me for so long. If marrying Kogi guarantees the stability of the Kirijo Group, then so be it."

The look he gave me was practically a glare and again, when he suddenly turned and walked away, I thought he was going to storm off in anger, but no, he started pacing around aimlessly, restless and silent, his expression darkening to a scowl. Then he came over to stand before me, fists clenching and unclenching by his sides, a hint of a challenge in his stare. I defiantly stared back. "Look into my eyes, Mitsuru, and tell me you fully agree with the board's decision," he whispered. "Tell me you're okay with marrying someone you barely even know."

Perhaps it was the way he towered over me as he said it, or perhaps it was just how I subconsciously started to drown in his grey eyes, thinking how heartbreakingly handsome he was against a backdrop of light, falling snowflakes. Slowly but surely, my previously unbreakable resolve was beginning to fall apart and I found myself whispering back to him, "I was, before." _Stop._ "When they told me, I agreed to it there and then and I've learnt to accept it in the weeks that followed." _Please stop._ "But lately, something has been holding me back…" Warning bells, my internal alarm, my brain telling me to _**stop**_, but I had no further control of my words. _"Someone—"_ I said under my breath. "—has been holding me back."

I had told myself the whole evening to not even approach that line but in a matter of seconds, I had inevitably crossed it in the end and there was no away I could turn back. My words were vague but the expression on his face was far too disconcerting. I had said too much. Akihiko could be oblivious to things at times but he wasn't stupid. It would only be a matter of time before he realised exactly who I was talking about.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled again, once more not knowing why I was apologising, and moved away from him, standing up. The booming of my heartbeat in my ears drowned all thoughts in my head except for one—I had to get away from him. My defence mechanism of distancing myself from people when I was out of my comfort zone had kicked in. I needed to get back to my room.

It was snowing harder now. I quickly turned to hurry back to the dorm, unable to say anymore to him, but as if sensing my growing anxiety, he swiftly reached out to catch my wrist and stop me. "Mitsuru, no," he called urgently. "Wait, I…" His sentence was left hanging.

Instinct told me to snatch my hand back and leave, but when I saw the look in his eyes, everything flew right out the window at once. I recognised that look—it was the same one I saw everytime I gazed into a mirror. His lips were parted, foggy clouds rising to the air in large puffs. He was breathing hard, appearing to want to say something, but only a pregnant silence filled the atmosphere. I did not know how long we simply stood there staring at one another, gradually getting covered in white.

When his hand gave me a small, light tug, it was enough for my will to bend to his, my walls crumbling away like a house of cards in a raging storm. I stepped towards him and leaned in, pressing my head against his chest, clutching at the fabric of his jacket, inhaling his masculine scent. His arms circled protectively around me and I felt him let out an explosive sigh, as if he had finally found what he had been looking for. It was then that I realised there had always been something between me and Akihiko, hidden deep in our relationship, well away from even our own senses. We got along well, had good chemistry despite moments of awkwardness and if we had only dug deeper, we would have found it sooner.

"… I've been such an idiot. I knew… I _knew _something had changed between us." His voice, close to my ear, sounded hoarse but strangely calm. "I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid that you wouldn't feel the same way… I know it's selfish, Mitsuru, but even if it's for the good of your father's company, I don't want you marrying that guy. It hurts just thinking about you with someone else. I don't… I don't wanna ruin what we had before, but I don't wanna lose you to someone else either." He pulled me closer as his breaths quickened, wrapping me in the warmth of his body. I wanted to look at him, to look into his eyes but he held on so tightly I couldn't move. "I know I have nothing to offer you," he said very softly. "No money or status to my name, but I want…" He stopped short, taking a deep breath and swallowing hard, as if willing himself the courage to complete the sentence. When he said the words, they were firm, unwavering, sounding almost like a command, "I want you to be with _me_ instead."

That was the closest he could get to an actual confession but it was enough for me to cling on to. _So that's why—_the explanation to his unexpected actions in Tartarus and his strange behaviour the past few weeks. My cheeks grew hot; I knew I must have been blushing dreadfully and a part of me was actually glad he couldn't see my face. All this time I had thought him indifferent when in reality, we had both been edging towards the same centre from opposite sides.

I did not know how the Kirijo Group would fare without Kogi, or how I would learn to hold on to the reins of this speeding carriage, but I was certain the Group would be strong enough to be able to move past this obstacle. What I lacked in experience I would make up in strength and will. Akihiko was right; the company did not need someone else making its decisions. I was the only heir to this empire my family had build for generations and no matter what people thought about my skills, one way or another, I was going to lead it myself.

"I'll call them tomorrow," I told him, my voice muffled against him and completely forgetting about the imminent battle that night. "I'll call off the engagement. The Kirijo Group doesn't need someone else to manage its affairs. It will be difficult without my father, but we can stand on our own, I'm sure of it."

Akihiko loosened his embrace, allowing me to finally stare into his eyes through the falling snow, grey orbs gleaming in relief and contentment. "You don't have to do it alone, Mitsuru… you know that, don't you?" he said, hands resting on my shoulders. "I'm here for you—always have been and always will be."

I didn't know why what he said brought prickles of tears to my vision and I hastily blinked them away, not quite able to hold his gaze all of a sudden. "Thank you," I quietly, almost shyly, said to him. His fingers moved up to gently brush away the snowflakes on my hair, leather gloves grazing my cheek. When I turned to him, he was staring at my mouth and for one wild, exciting moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, but instead he looked down and reached for my hands and held them tight, his thumb rubbing a knuckle lightly. When he bit his lip, I knew something awful was coming.

"… What if we forget?" he murmured, glancing up at me, his expression troubled. "After tonight… our memories might be… I mean, we might not remember all of this…"

I had not thought about that. It was a terribly distressing thing to even consider. I had no idea what the future would bring for the both of us but as long as we had the present, I knew we could move on from there, and so, with all honesty and sincerity, I declared in a hushed whisper, "I'm yours, Akihiko, heart and soul. Yours and yours alone."

His eyes widened at my words and his breathing turned heavy before he suddenly pulled me back into his arms and hugged me closely, fingers buried deep in my hair, his mouth exhaling next to my ear. I took in his scent again and closed my eyes, feeling his Adam's apple against my forehead. His hand trailed down to my back tentatively and I heard him draw in a long breath. "Mitsuru…" he started hesitantly. "I—"

"Akihiko-senpai, is that you?" At the familiar voice, we broke apart immediately, our movements fluid and almost synchronised, the moment lost forever. I quickly turned and a distance away just by the stairs stood a slightly hunched figure, hands deep in pockets. _Arisato…_ There was a bark and a scampering of paws on stone and Koromaru appeared, rushing to circle around us happily. I felt myself going red and looked away, pulling my scarf tighter around me and crossing my arms, an acid-like feeling in my stomach.

"Minato, what are you doing here?" I could tell Akihiko was trying very hard not to appear annoyed. To be completely honest, I supposed I was a _little_ bothered by the junior's interruption. It sounded as if Akihiko had something important to say to me before…

"Koromaru wanted to go for a walk before our battle tonight. Oh, hey, Mitsuru-senpai." Arisato's tone was innocent but one look at his face told me otherwise.

"… Hello," was all I managed to say.

There was a pause as the three of us just stood there looking at one another awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. When Koromaru came up with something in his mouth and dropped it by Arisato's feet, barking, the bluehead bent down to pick it up. "Oh look," he said mildly. "Koromaru found a Balm of Life." Somehow, the tiny grin he gave us didn't seem to be in relation to the object in his hand at all. Where did Koromaru get it anyway? I wondered if the dog had just taken it off the offering table at the shrine…

"Uh… great work, Koromaru," Akihiko mechanically said, glancing down at our canine companion, whose tail was wagging back and forth excitedly.

"We were just heading back," I announced, my defence mechanism already powering up. There was no way to erase what the junior had seen so the best course of action, I deemed at that time, was to get as far away from him as possible. "See you later, Arisato."

"Later," he responded as Akihiko and I went to the stairs and down to the streets. Koromaru, panting loudly, had run off somewhere. Without another look behind, we walked until we were far enough from the shrine, and then Akihiko's gloved hand found mine. He held on tight, invoking a surge of warmth within me, and muttered something that made me chuckle softly despite the discomfort from before.

"If it had been Shinji," he said drily. "I would have never heard the end of it."

* * *

**A/N: I really wanted to include a kiss between the two but later felt that it would be too cliche. Oh well, Akihiko would be able to kiss her all he wanted when they got back to the dorm. **

**Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed this collection! Feedback makes me a very happy (future) chemical engineer. I had a lot of fun writing this and think that perhaps I should replace 'short stories' in the summary with something else since some of the chapters are pretty long. I look forward to writing (and reading!) more Aki/Mitsu goodness. :D  
**


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